No-till can be the answer next spring for farmers who can’t get into their fields this fall, said Tony Vyn, Purdue University Extension cropping systems specialist.

A wet fall has left soils saturated and delayed harvest, making it difficult for many producers to complete fall tillage operations. That doesn’t necessarily result in crop yield penalties in 2007, Vyn said. No-till or conservation tillage systems such as strip tillage are viable options for spring planting.

Vyn suggests producers analyze their fields before making tillage decisions. If a field has well-drained soils and no harvest ruts, farmers can practice conversation tillage.

“The fields should be left for no-till, especially for any situations where either corn or soybeans will follow soybeans,” Vyn said.

On well-drained soil with harvest ruts, producers should consider using offset disks, disk rippers, or disk chisel tools when soil conditions permit shattering plus leveling. Such soil conditions might not occur until March or April, Vyn said. He also recommends no-till or strip-till practices with controlled traffic lanes for wheel tracks, since firmer soil in the wheel track zones will lower the risks associated with wet harvests.

“On poorly drained soils without harvest ruts, planting delays in the spring of 2007 are more likely than on well-drained soils,” Vyn said. “Consider spring operations, either strip tillage or shallow full-width operations, only if they can help achieve earlier corn and soybean planting dates without compacting or smearing the soil. If the first full-width tillage operations are close to the planting date, there is a better chance of plant establishment.”

A field with poorly drained soils and harvest ruts is a likely candidate for planting delays, Vyn said. Producers should delay full-width tillage operations as long as possible in the spring, so that further compaction damage is avoided.

Planting soon after tillage helps preserve soil moisture, Vyn said.

“Operate tillage tools—field cultivators or combination tillage tools—just shallow enough to fill in the ruts as best as you can,” Vyn said. “Then accept the reality that deeper soil loosening needs to be delayed until perhaps the fall of 2007, and try to have more tile drainage installed at the earliest opportunity.”

Spring strip tillage is still possible if dry soil conditions are present in March, Vyn said. However, spring strip tillage implement adjustment is much different than that for fall operations, in the sense that spring strip tillage should be shallower and result in lower — and preferably level — berms with finer-sized clods. Deep spring strip tillage just before planting is particularly risky in dry springs and on fine-textured soils, Vyn said.

In the long term, producers might want to think about how their crop management program can be adjusted to achieve better soil resiliency to the stresses imposed by excessive and insufficient rainfall, Vyn said.

Cover crops, residue retention, soil amendments, controlled traffic, lower axle weights and delayed field operations during periods of high soil moisture all need to be considered to improve soil stability, Vyn said. Once a producer has the benefit of sub-surface drainage, the only way to help the soil and the crop cope with water extremes is improved soil structure.

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