Not only has the fall been good for harvest, many farmers are taking advantage of drier than normal weather to till many fields. There are a variety of ways to till and it seems nearly every possible method is being utilized.

A primary objective appears to be relieving suspected compacted layers in the soil. Driving the countryside, the number of fields that have had in-line ripping is much higher than in recent years. Of course the term in-line ripping can vary in meaning to different people, but in general it describes an activity that tries to work deeper than 12 inches with minimal surface disturbance. Deep ripping with sweeps or twisted shanks is also popular, but results in less surface residue to reduce erosion potential. Penetrating the compacted zone requires much horsepower, but can be very effective in “shattering” subsurface areas that have endured trafficking from heavy equipment. Prior to recent showers, some farmers lamented on the excessive wear on chisel points and sweeps due to the dry soils.

One local operator said he was almost afraid to look back without the back tractor lights on for fear of seeing sparks generated from steel on dry soil. Maybe an exaggeration, but suggestive of the very dry conditions we experienced earlier.

Compaction left over from last year’s wet harvest season, spring tillage and planting on wetter than desirable soils, or even side dressing of nitrogen could all be moderated by deeper tillage of dry soils.

We have also observed numerous fields that received lighter tillage, to control existing weed growth and encourage quicker soil warm up next spring. Yet other farmers just disked stalk fields to encourage more rapid deterioration of the residue. Several crop producers are also using strip tillage equipment, with the goal of leaving most of the soil surface undisturbed while still creating an area that warms and dries sooner for timely spring planting. Fuel and time spent now should help us with more timely seeding in the spring of 2011.

Many of the folks we talked to plan to use single pass tillage tools in fall tilled fields next spring prior to corn planting. Some of the same people like the same equipment to prepare a smooth seedbed for soybean planting. Committed no-tillers may subject themselves to strip-tillage or even an in-line ripper in some instances, but many of the no-till folks tried to attack the compaction issue with the planting of tillage radishes and/or annual rye grass this fall. Those individuals and others interested in learning more about less tillage should jot down two  dates on their calenders:

•Dec. 7 – The Ohio No-Till Conference in Plain City, Ohio
•Jan. 12-15 – The National No-Till Conference in Cincinnati
Please watch future Ohio Farm News columns for more details on both events.  Who knows? Maybe we can meet and talk crop production at each event.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Roger Bender may write to him in care of this publication.