He is also looking at little barley (Hordeum pusillum Nutt.), a native reseeding winter annual as a winter cover crop. In cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state agronomists in Georgia and North Carolina, he is evaluating several ecotypes of little barley on the farm.
The little barley produces a large amount of seed, produces abundant amounts of residue for conservation tillage, is easily killed with contact herbicides and does not become a weed problem. Since it does not have to be planted each year, this will save farmers money and time. Little barley appears to have many potential uses on farms throughout most of the United States.
Lamar is dedicated in the use and promotion of conservation tillage. He regularly presents programs in and out of state on his long-term conservation tillage systems, crop rotations, cover crops, and nutrient and pest management programs. The farm is host to several tours annually. Farmers from as far away as Argentina have visited the Tilmanstone Farm.
Lamar is a charter member of the Georgia Conservation Tillage Alliance, Inc. (GCTA). To help farmers obtain and use the latest information on conservation tillage, the GCTA was formed in 1994. The GCTA is a farmer led grass-roots movement, where home grown good ideas, research findings, and information exchange are used to improve and sustain Georgia's agriculture. He was on the Steering Committee that organized the Alliance and was President of GCTA in 1997 and again in 1998. One reason for the dramatic increase in the no-till cotton acreage in Georgia is his leadership of the GCTA.
Lamar also serves on the Board of Directors and gives direction for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) Conservation Tillage Demonstration Farm in Burke County. The 600 acre farm is being utilized for research on the long-term benefits of conservation tillage. Also, long-term side by side watershed studies of conservation tillage compared with conventional tillage are being planned.
Lamar is dedicated to helping his fellow man learn more about the conservation of our natural resources. Lamar said, "To me as a farmer, conservation of the soil and water is the bottom line."