Better Farming - August 2016

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Better Farming August 2016 Farm News First > 43
As I drive around Ontario I see
a lot of deep ripping going on.
When you go to farm shows
there are more deep rippers now than
a few years ago. At last year’s Cana-
da’s Outdoor Farm Show, there were
more deep rippers than ever.
So what is all the interest in deep
ripping? Is it a fad? Or is it farmers
wanting to hear their tractors really
work? Maybe yes to both. But the
real reason farmers are using deep
rippers is compaction.
Compaction in Ontario soils is
real. If you work up an old fence
bottom or land that has not been
worked in years you notice how well
the crop grows. Generally this is
because of less compaction.
The number one cause of compac-
tion is wheel traffic. The biggest factor
is larger tractors and combines. Tracks
and radial tires can only do so much
to alleviate tire-caused compaction.
This wheel-traffic compaction is
increased because of earlier planting.
You get higher yields by planting
earlier. Drainage allows you to get
onto land sooner but the subsoil is
still wet. This wetter subsoil compacts
more when wet. Wetter harvests two
and three years ago meant more
by PAT LYNCH
CROPS: THELYNCHFILE
Let ’er rip!
Is deep ripping fad or necessity? U.S. studies reveal some surprising results.
compaction. You had to get the crop
off knowing you were compacting the
soil.
Thaw-freeze cycles help but only
with compaction in the top five or six
inches. Adding forages to the rotation
can help, but most forage fields are
more compacted than cash-cropped
fields. This is because of the number
of times harvesting equipment tracks
a field. Crops grow better after
forages because of factors other than
compaction.
Is no-till the answer to overcoming
compaction? In tillage studies on a
loamy sand at the Sand Plain Experi-
mental Farm at Becker, Minnesota,
comparing no-till, chisel, moldboard
and ridge-till systems, and at a study
on a silt loam at Arlington, Wiscon-
sin, comparing chisel, moldboard and
ridge-till systems, the greatest resis-
tance to penetration in the 0- to
12-inch depth occurred on the no-till
treatments. (As reported in a compac-
tion study by the University of
Minnesota.)
Where no tillage was done,
freezing and thawing over winter
reduced the bulk density only slightly
and only above the six-inch depth. In
this study, chisel plow and disk
treatments were less effective than
the moldboard plow in removing
surface compaction in one over-win-
ter period. These results confirm
freezing and thawing alone may not
remove compaction.
No-till will help if you are using
Tracks and radial tires can only do so much to alleviate tire-caused
compaction.
Forage fields are compacted because of the number of times harvesting
equipment tracks a field.