Is fall tillage really necessary?
By Jan Youngquist

[April 03, 2015]  Tillage is an essential part of commercial crop operations. From spring planting, mid-season weed control, to fall cleanup and prep for spring; tillage serves many different functions.

The focus in crop production is to get the highest possible yield. But what if you could practice conservation tillage, keep high yields and cut costs?

Fuel is one of the more obvious savings. There is an easy to use online calculator supplied by the USDA that estimates fuel amount and cost for various tillage options.

We referenced 700 acres corn and 300 acres soybeans specifically on Logan County soils and at $3.00 per gallon diesel.

The rough estimate is a $7,000 savings per year using no-till.

[Prepared chart here]
Fill in your figures to learn what fuel savings you might be missing http://ecat.sc.egov.usda.gov/Fuel.aspx

Conservation tillage was first introduced to promote protecting soils from erosion. Today we know that subsoil environments are improved substantially as well.

One of the newer methods referred to as 'Vertical tillage' involves disturbing less than a four-inch depth with the primary purpose to put old stalks and residue in better contact with the soil for decomposition. Row, strip and mulch tilling provide like benefits.

Shallow or no-till methods better improve soil structure by building organic matter that increases nutrient availability, creates a more stable and even moisture environment, fosters other naturally occurring structures that permit roots access to soil nutrients for absorption.

Soil with layers of organic material and structure built are less likely to become compacted even when heavy equipment is used in wet seasons.

Soil and Water Conservation Chairman Doug Thompson is a believer in no-till. He's been practicing no-till on his corn and soybean fields for years. He notes that plant roots need to be able to move through soils without too much resistance. One of the benefits to no-till he has seen, is that after a time the soil regains its native structure and becomes more firm and resistant to compaction; all great conditions for plant roots.

Traditional deep cultivation loosens up soil and makes it much softer. So when heavy farm equipment travels over it, it is more subject to compaction. Last fall's wet harvest played havoc for many farmers when heavy equipment became stuck, some buried deep in fields that by and far, Thompson noted, were fields where conventional deep tillage, mostly chiseled, has been the practice.

Before planting in the spring, these fields will need more deep tillage to break up the compaction, which sets up for a continuous cycle.

Thompson also noted that while tillage can aid in controlling weeds during the growing season, especially those that are herbicide resistant, deep burying weed seeds by disking in the fall can keep them coming back for many years, which will mean more weed control costs each year. Additionally, weed seeds that sprout on the surface are more easily destroyed.

Thompson did share one practice he uses with a possible draw back. He dresses his crops with potash on the surface without tilling it in, which is then subject to being washed away.

At a Field Day hosted by Illinois Stewardship Alliance in Atlanta last fall, Dr. Bill Becker 'the Crop Dr.' explained several measures he uses for building soils. He has been researching soil structure for 30 years and has found that less disturbed soils provide a better balance of micronutrients and less need for pricey NPK fertilizers.

According to University of Illinois economist, Gary Schnitkey, NPK fertilizer costs have been coming down from a high of $200 an acre in 2012 and may continue to come down. Even so, fertilizer is the single largest direct input cost at an estimated $140 on projected $357 an acre.

Improving soil structure leads to healthier root systems, thereby healthier plant material, and higher yields, while lowering the amount of chemical controls for pests and diseases and how much fertilizer is needed.

Yet, according to the 2012 Agricultural Census, 8,355,327 acres (more than half) in Illinois are conventional tilled.

Steve Bracey, Resource Conservationist with the Logan County Soil and Water Conservation District said in regard to fall tillage, "We like to see farmers leave as much residue as possible in the fall so there will be some protection present for spring planting."

"Soil loss can occur in any month of the year but is typically highest in the spring of the year. In recent years we have seen a lot of damage occur in the late winter months as frost is still present in the ground and we have a large snowmelt or a 1-2” rain event."

The SWCD conducts a tillage transect survey of Logan County every two to three years. What crop was planted and an estimate of how much residue was present is checked at 550 points. The acres of no-till corn have decreased slightly, while the acres of no-till soybeans have increased. Conventional tillage is defined as the ground surface having less than 15 percent residue on it."

Logan County 2013 Transect results:
Conventional till -
The transect survey in 2013 indicated that seven percent of the points that were planted to corn and 0% of the soybean points were planted with conventional tillage.

No till -
In contrast, 46 percent of the soybean points were planted to no-till, while 22 % of the corn fields checked were no-till.

Other limited till methods -
The balance of the points for both crops was in either a reduced tillage or mulch tillage system.

Thompson and Bracey recognize that there are many factors to consider including soil type and location in deciding what practices to employ. "If there was just one way to do it, then everybody would do it that way," Thompson said.

Resources to contact:
Steve Bracey, Resource Conservationist
Logan County SWCD
[phone] Ext. 3

University of Illinois Extension
John Fulton, County Extension Director
[phone] [e-mail] 
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/lms/

Illinois Stewardship Alliance
[phone]
Search http://www.ilstewards.org/

 

Read all the articles in our new
Spring 2015 Logan County
Farm Outlook magazine

Title CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES	Page
2014 Year in Review	4
The year producers won the battle	7
How GMO regulations affect exports	9
GMOs and Biotechnology: Facts and Fiction	13
What are the impacts of last year?	16
Using corn storage as a hedge	20
Is fall tillage really necessary?	23
The cost of corn-on-corn	30
CASH RENT:  The Great Equalizer	34
Lowering your costs may increase your risks	37
Will lower fuels costs make farming profitable in 2015?	39
Mr. Allen and the Mount Pulaski FFA, a natural fit	40
Ag Scholarships	44
2014 County crop yields	52

Fuel Consumption and Cost

The fuel use estimates are based on per acre fuel uses found in the literature on typical cropping & tillage systems in your area. These estimates are based on field conditions that existed in test trials cited in the literature. An example of the literature which supplied fuel consumption usage is "Estimating Farm Fuel Requirements" by H.W. Downs and R.W. Hansen (http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/FARMMGT/05006.html)

Total Diesel Fuel Consumption Estimate (in gallons per year)

Crop	Acres	Conventional Till	Mulch Till	Ridge Till	No Till
Corn	700	3,779	3,170	3,143	2,191
Soybeans - wide row	300	1,571	1,310	1,038	699
Total Fuel Use		5,350	4,480	4,181	2,890
Potential Annual Fuel Savings over Conventional Tillage			870	1,169	2,460
Savings			16%	22%	46%

Fuel use estimates are based on average field and equipment conditions, average fertilizer and pesticide applications, and normal crop yields. They do not include: fuel use associated with trips to your fields and farm-to-market transport, irrigation, and, grain drying. They also do not consider differences in fuel use associated with crop yields, soil texture, slope, field size and shape, implement width, tractor size, tire inflation or driving techniques. Your actual fuel use may vary significantly from the value presented.

To see a differenct cost estimate, change the diesel fuel cost per gallon and click the Recalulate button.

Diesel fuel cost per gallon: $

Total Diesel Fuel Cost Estimate (in dollars per year) based on $3.00/gallon

Crop	Acres	Conventional Till	Mulch Till	Ridge Till	No Till
Corn	700	$11,339	$9,512	$9,429	$6,573
Soybeans - wide row	300	$4,715	$3,932	$3,114	$2,097
Total Fuel Cost		$16,050	$13,440	$12,543	$8,670
Potential Annual Fuel Savings over Conventional Tillage			$2,610	$3,507	$7,380