Deep plowing as a farming technique is obsolete?

[MillCreek]

On Kiplinger's, I was reading a list of ten things that will soon be obsolete.  Plowing is on the list.   Is this true?  Is turning the soil still necessary, and if so, how is it done these days?


The Plow

Few things are as symbolic of farming as the moldboard plow, but the truth is, the practice of “turning the soil” is dying off.

Modern farmers have little use for it. It provides a deep tillage that turns up too much soil, encouraging erosion because the plow leaves no plant material on the surface to stop wind and rain water from carrying the soil away. It also requires a huge amount of diesel fuel to plow, compared with other tillage methods, cutting into farmers' profits. The final straw: It releases more carbon dioxide into the air than other tillage methods.

Deep plowing is winding down its days on small, poor farms that can't afford new machinery. Most U.S. cropland is now managed as "no-till" or minimum-till, relying on herbicides and implements such as seed drills that work the ground with very little disturbance. Even organic farmers have found ways to minimize tillage, using cover crops rather than herbicides to cut down on weeds. Firms like John Deere (DE) offer a range of sophisticated devices for these techniques.


Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/business/T057-S001-7-things-that-will-soon-disappear/index.html#I5sI9JHOEr5ERMjK.99

[MechAg94]

Sounds like the seed drills are essentially advanced plowing.  Plus they probably don't fertilize the same way they used to.  I could be wrong, I am no farmer.

[Andiron]

My family has moldboard plowed for the past 150 odd years, with no negative effect.  In the past 10 years,  we've purchased a no till drill, but turning the soil over and rotating crops is still important.

[RoadKingLarry]

Don't need plows no more. Just hose everything with glyphosate and plant "Round-up Ready" seeds from Monsanto and you're good to go with your "no-till" drill.

[Pb]

My father was an agronomist with the soil conservation service.  He said they were trying to get farmers to practice no-till farming:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming

[lee n. field]

My Dad was into no-till a long time ago.

[brimic]

couldn't read.
The site blocked me because I have Adblocker.
eff them.

[Brad Johnson]

"No Till" is a misnomer. It should be "minimum till". The ground must still be disturbed to some degree to plant seed, and sometimes to combat unwanted vegetation which can't be cost-effectively controlled by other means. If by "deep plowing" they mean old-school rippers, then yes. At one time they were used extensively, the thought being that deep ripping 12" to 18" below the surface allowed more moisture penetration. Unfortunately it also allows more moisture to escape than it captures so the practice has been all but abandoned except in very limited circumstances.

Brad

[Andiron]

"No Till" is a misnomer. It should be "minimum till". The ground must still be disturbed to some degree to plant seed, and sometimes to combat unwanted vegetation which can't be cost-effectively controlled by other means. If by "deep plowing" they mean old-school rippers, then yes. At one time they were used extensively, the thought being that deep ripping 12" to 18" below the surface allowed more moisture penetration. Unfortunately it also allows more moisture to escape than it captures so the practice has been all but abandoned except in very limited circumstances.

Brad

as a WAG,  Ohio farmers in my area still moldboard at least 50% of the time.  Those that don't at least chisel plow,  though that is less invasive.

I don't set up as an expert,  but IME the farms that have went to only no-till and no rotation end up with drainage issues.

[sumpnz]

Sounds like the seed drills are essentially advanced plowing.  Plus they probably don't fertilize the same way they used to.  I could be wrong, I am no farmer.

My younger boy gets excited whenever he sees the poop truck working the fields.

[charby]

They also have no till planters, just like a traditional planter except they have heavier springs for more down pressure on planting wheels. Also many of them have row cleaners in the front that rake the debris away seed row ahead of the planting wheels.

No till doesn't work for every field/farming operation but it works for some. For the most part in Iowa, moldboard tillage has gone the way of the buggy whip, and has been replaced by conservation tillage. Conservation tillage still works the soil, but it leaves 40-70% of the plant residue on the soil surface, for the most part this is almost as equal in soil erosion loss as no till.

In a very basic nutshell: The residue slows down the energy of the raindrops, which in turn keeps the soil peds from breaking apart and being carried away by wind and water run off.

[Mannlicher]

"No Till" is a misnomer. It should be "minimum till". The ground must still be disturbed to some degree to plant seed, and sometimes to combat unwanted vegetation which can't be cost-effectively controlled by other means. If by "deep plowing" they mean old-school rippers, then yes. At one time they were used extensively, the thought being that deep ripping 12" to 18" below the surface allowed more moisture penetration. Unfortunately it also allows more moisture to escape than it captures so the practice has been all but abandoned except in very limited circumstances.

Brad

there is still a need to use a harrow to smooth the surface, aerate the soil,  and remove unwanted growth,

   

[zahc]

Basically yes. The only people still deep plowing are those who are stuck in their ways and haven't died off yet.

[charby]

Basically yes. The only people still deep plowing are those who are stuck in their ways and haven't died off yet.

Sub-soil rippers are still be manufactured.

http://www.caseih.com/northamerica/en-us/products/tillage/disk-rippers

[French G.]

We have Lely Roterras for prepping the race track. Couldn't imagine farming without one.

[KD5NRH]

as a WAG,  Ohio farmers in my area still moldboard at least 50% of the time.  Those that don't at least chisel plow,  though that is less invasive.

We had a guy around here that used an old, modified road grader, which basically scooped off the top foot of soil, flipped it over and then set it down a few yards to the right.  He would burn and flip in the fall or winter, (such as it is here) and then disc a time or two before spring planting.  Not sure if he's still around, but his fields always looked kind of interesting after the grader runs, but he seemed to get good crops.  Of course, some of that probably comes from the fact that a lot of the soil types around here are a DIY loam; hard clay separated by bands of sand.  If you can get the two mixed, it's great.  Otherwise you kill the weeds and wait for coastal to take over, then make your money off hay.

[Brad Johnson]

there is still a need to use a harrow to smooth the surface, aerate the soil,  and remove unwanted growth,

   

Crop-dependent, and even then still in use on a very sparing basis. In most instances the harrow was determined to be wasteful and unnecessary, yet another soil modification that hurt more than helped when judged objectively.

Brad

[charby]

Crop-dependent, and even then still in use on a very sparing basis. In most instances the harrow was determined to be wasteful and unnecessary, yet another soil modification that hurt more than helped when judged objectively.

Brad

A lot of disk harrowing is done right before planting, especially when rotating from corn to beans. Mostly to break up residue and help warm the soil by blacking it.

Also to incorporate any herbicide and/or fertilizer.

[Brad Johnson]

A lot of disk harrowing is done right before planting, especially when rotating from corn to beans. Mostly to break up residue and help warm the soil by blacking it.

Also to incorporate any herbicide and/or fertilizer.

We don't see much, if any, harrow use in these parts. Common crops here don't need it, and growing seasons don't line up right for the crop rotations they do in northern plains and mid-western states.

Brad

[Firethorn]

Sub-soil rippers are still be manufactured.

http://www.caseih.com/northamerica/en-us/products/tillage/disk-rippers

Somebody stuck in their ways still need to replace their equipment, even if the usage of said equipment is unnecessary or counterproductive.

[charby]

Somebody stuck in their ways still need to replace their equipment, even if the usage of said equipment is unnecessary or counterproductive.

These newer type of rippers do a good job of leaving residue on the soil surface.

[charby]

Sounds like the seed drills are essentially advanced plowing.  Plus they probably don't fertilize the same way they used to.  I could be wrong, I am no farmer.

Synthetic fertilizer is a relatively new concept, but has been in use since the 1950s.

Anhydrous ammonia is probably the dominate fertilizer in the corn belt, followed by 32% Urea (either liquid or granular) application. Do have some foliage applications and more are starting to switch to a smaller pre-plant application (usually included with a pre-emergent herbicide application) and side dress with Urea before reproductive growth occurs on corn. Gets the nitrogen to the plant when it needs it, instead of a big pre-plant application and having nutrient loss.

Yes tons of manure is still incorporated into the soil near the confinement operations.

[cordex]

.. and not one sex joke yet.  I would have lost that bet.

[seeker_two]

We haven't gotten to the part about the daughter and the traveling salesman yet.....

[Ben]

A lot of disk harrowing is done right before planting, especially when rotating from corn to beans. Mostly to break up residue and help warm the soil by blacking it.

Also to incorporate any herbicide and/or fertilizer.

We always disc between spring and fall planting - corn and wheat/oats. Also to disc in the five bajillion tons of stinkin' manure that gets spread before each crop.