Slow Down To Prevent Tillage Erosion

It's something that not a lot of farmers think about, but tillage erosion can play a major factor when it comes to yield results.

 

Marla Rieckman is the soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

 

She had a few tips on how to prevent erosion.

 

"You want to think first of all about slowing down," explained Rieckman. "Anything that you can do to spend less time on that soil. Less passes is important, but going slower is something that most people don't think about because we are strapped for time in the fall, we want to go fast, we want to get across the field as quickly as possible; but with that speed you actually throw soil a lot more and as a result of that you're going to move soil a greater distance, potentially."

 

Rieckman notes rotating the type of tillage equipment being used is also important. She adds a lot of the new high-speed shallow tillage machines often pulverize the soil, which can leave it more susceptible to wind or water erosion.