Monday, November 09, 2009

Compaction, Tillage & Wet Soils:

· A recent article by Mark Hanna at Iowa State has gotten a lot of attention in the past two weeks for what it states about deep fall tillage on wet soils.

"Using tillage to loosen the soil and relieve compaction requires soil to be dry enough so that soil shattering is effective. Because soil moisture has refilled the soil profile, deep tillage with a chisel plow or subsoiler this fall or next spring will use fuel and time – but is unlikely to loosen soil effectively between tillage shanks. Entering the field this fall in wet moisture conditions for deep tilling or any type of tillage will be counterproductive by creating much deeper soil compaction."

· After reading this article, I did a literature search on deep tillage and compaction. I found that current research (since 2000) shows deep tillage (> 12" deep)is only effective in dry soil profiles. Why? Because ,"When tilling in a wet soil profile deep tillage shanks have to lift and shatter a much heavier soil profile due to the extra weight of the water present in the profile. The shanks are not able to provide enough lift and typically smear through the soil profile, decreasing the effectiveness of breaking up compaction and moving compaction zones deeper in the profile".

· Research out of Minnesota states the following: "Instinct would lead you to believe that you should till as deep as possible to shatter any smeared soil or compacted layers that were created. However, your soil's best natural defense against compaction is soil structure. The deeper you till and the more aggressive your operations, the more structure you will damage, leaving your soil susceptible to further compaction".

· I mention all this about soil compaction and wet soils, because for the first time I saw compaction at deep levels when I visited soil pits this summer. In fact there were 2 layers of compaction. The first layer of compaction was at the 3-4" depth and due to the wet soil conditions at planting. The second layer was at 16", the depth the farmer set his disc-ripper to operate at. His comment was that he liked to operate his ripper when the soil was a little wet, because it pulled easier (i.e.- he was slicing the soil, not ripping the soil).

Soil Temperature:

The current soil temperature at the 4" depth is 50^o and at the 8" depth is 51^o. This information is available on the Web from Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program.

Multi-County Marketing Group: - Mike Zuzolo, Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting LLC – Nov. 17

The purpose of this group will be to present the best agricultural marketing advice that is available in the Midwest. To that end, each month a well-known marketing expert will present their view of the current agricultural markets and advice on how to profit from it. This club is the cooperative effort of Extension units in Lee, Macon, Montgomery and Piatt counties. This month's speaker is Mike Zuzolo from Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting LLC. The meetings will be on the third Tuesday (Nov. 17) of the month at 7:30 pm at our office.

2009 Illinois Farm Economics Summit: Dec. 14 & 15

Speakers from the farmdoc team at the U. of I. will explore the farm profitability outlook from several perspectives, including price directions, farm returns, climate change policy, farm programs, and implications of the economic crisis. Local meetings in the area will be December 14 & 15 in Champaign & Bloomington. For more information, visit farmdoc.

2010 Illinois Corn & Soybean Classics: Jan. 8 & 12

The 2010 program, emphasizing crop production, pest management, economics, and the interactions among them, will begin at 9:00 and conclude by 3:30. Market updates will be provided throughout the day, and communication among speakers and participants is encouraged. Meetings in the local area will be January 8 & 12 in Champaign & Bloomington. For more information, visit the Classics web site.

Private Pesticide Applicator Training: Feb. 22

Our local Private Pesticide Applicator training will be February 22 starting at 8:00 a.m. Other training dates in the area are: Nov. 23 in McLean Co., Nov. 30 in Champaign Co., and Jan. 19 in Macon Co. More information is available at the Pesticide Safety Education Program web site.