Vertical Farming

Drought Conditions Require Careful Attention To Fall Tillage Practices

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:57:01 GMT

With harvest now in the rearview mirror in many areas, farmers are focusing their attention on fall tillage. The soil type you’re working in and where you farm are making a big difference on how fall tillage is going, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

Some fields in Illinois and surrounding states that had excessive rainfall last spring have ruts and compaction to address but are currently in the midst of D2 and D3 drought levels. With that challenge in mind, Here’s a look at some tillage options by system:

Strip-Till: In lighter soils – particularly light silt loams – Ferrie says farmers are creating good strip-till berms, with few to no chunks or clods that will have to be addressed next spring.

“These will mellow out and create a pretty decent seedbed next spring. Even though the soil is hard and dried out, the lighter soils are stripping nice,” he reports.

That’s not the case where farmers are working heavier ground with clay to clay-loam soils. Strip tilling in these soils is creating a rougher environment that Ferrie is afraid will lead to some tough seedbeds next spring.

“If you’re running a strip freshener next spring, much of this problem can be corrected, but only if you’re running that freshener before these large clods become dried clods in the spring,” he says. “Clods that get smashed into the furrow by the planter next spring will create some germination issues.”

If you use a strip freshener, one avenue Ferrie says you might consider is to bypass the fall strips and just freshen them in the spring to achieve a good seedbed. But if conditions continue to be dry going into next spring, he would advise farmers to conserve available moisture and just no-till the field.

Conventional-till: To eliminate ruts in conventional-till, use a chisel plow or disk ripper on cornstalks, then follow with a leveling pass next spring. Run a chisel plow at a slight angle across the wheel tracks to break up soil compaction.

In bean stubble with 4" ruts, use a soil finisher and level in the spring. If ruts are 6" to 8", use a chisel plow to fill them in first. If possible, spot chisel to fix only the areas in the field with ruts. Follow with a soil finisher pass next spring. Use aerial imagery from the growing season to help determine whether you can patch the field or if it all needs to be worked.

Vertical-till: In a corn-to-soybean rotation with ruts or severe pinch rows, use a chisel plow in the cornstalks followed by a vertical-till leveling pass next spring. When using a chisel plow, make sure you achieve full width shatter from shank to shank for optimum results, Ferrie says.

In a soybean-to-corn rotation, use an in-line ripper in bean stubble when dealing with pinch rows and 4" ruts. Run the in-line ripper at an angle to make sure you cross the ruts or pinch rows. If you run with the rows, it might not bust wheel tracks apart; it will only pick them up and set them back down. In these scenarios, it will likely take two passes with a vertical-till leveling tool next spring to eliminate the tracks.

In 6" to 8" ruts, don’t use an in-line ripper. Instead, Ferrie suggests using a chisel plow. If ruts are spotty, chisel them in first and then in-line rip the entire field, leaving a large portion of the field covered in residue. If deep ruts appear across the entire field, run the chisel plow across it all.

Be sure to respect land contour to eliminate erosion.

Deep ruts usually aren’t an issue in strip-till and no-till fields because the soil is more firm. However, take action to fix tracks and 2" to 4" ruts, as the benefits far outweigh the risks.

No-till: Ruts usually aren’t too big of an issue in no-till fields because the soil is firm. However, don’t let a 4" rut or pinch rows fool you. Both can be hard on ear counts the following year.

If you’re dealing with wheel tracks in a no-till soybean scenario, there’s a good chance freezing and thawing paired with a vertical-harrow tool will do the trick. If fixed, you can return to no-till the following year.

With 4" to 6" ruts in cornstalks followed by soybeans, plan to shallow chisel the field to achieve full width shatter and then level with a vertical harrow. Once fixed, the field can return to no-till the following year.

In soybean stubble with ruts in small portions of the field, patch it with tillage and continue to no-till the rest of the field. If pinch rows or ruts are present across the entire field, use vertical tillage to address the problem and then return to no-till in future years.

“Ultimately, in order to avoid long-term yield effects, fields might have to come out of no-till or strip-till to fix ruts and compaction issues,” Ferrie says. “Ruts often show up in aerial imagery for two to three years. As soon as the problems are fixed, the field can return to no-till or strip-till.”

Anhydrous Ammonia Considerations In Dry Soils
Without some rainfall in areas suffering from drought, Ferrie is concerned anhydrous ammonia (NH3) applications will be challenging to seal. In some cases, when growers are smelling ammonia a day after application, that means the product is making its way to the soil surface and being lost.

Ferrie says you should be able to stand out in the field as NH3 is applied and not see it or smell it. That was not the case this past week in some central Illinois fields.

“I saw one field that had cracks big enough that you could put your hand down in them. The anhydrous bar was not only smoking around the knives, gas was coming out through the cracks in the soil between the knives,” Ferrie reports.

Anhydrous ammonia will move in soils until it finds enough soil moisture to convert from ammonia to ammonium. In dry soils, an inhibitor will be ineffective because it is designed to stop nitrification and not volatility.

“That’s why growers wonder why they can smell ammonia leaking out of a dry soil when they use N-Serve. It doesn’t work like that. You’re not protected against volatility,” Ferrie explains.

Instead, N-Serve acts to slow down the bacteria that converts ammonium to nitrate, keeping nitrogen in the ammonium form longer.

European Corn Borer Populations Rebuild
Ferrie says he had a number of farmers call in this fall regarding certain hybrids that were dropping ears. Most of the fields contained non-GMO hybrids, and in many cases the problem was caused by European corn borer and the hybrid was not at fault.

Ferrie advises farmers to inspect ears from the fields in question, if still available, for telltale signs of the pest. “Look at that butt of the ear in the shank,” he says. “Corn borer will leave a tunnel in the shank, or through the center of the cob, coming out the butt of the ear into the shank.”

Ferrie says he is seeing populations of the pest starting to rebuild in areas where non-GMO corn has been grown multiple years.

“Corn borers have been gone so long, most growers have forgotten about them, or they’re too young to have farmed when corn borer was a threat,” he explains. “Inspecting some ears now will give you insights on what you’re dealing with and a leg up on what you need to plan for next season.”

Learn more of Ken Ferrie’s recommendations on how to address tillage, NH3 and pest control in his latest episode of Boots In The Field:

Your next read: Unpacking the Disappointment: 5 Reasons Some Iowa Growers Had Ho-Hum Corn Yields

Robot Bees? Check Out This New Pollination Innovation

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:09:12 GMT

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed advanced robotic insects that could aid farming through artificial pollination. They could prove especially useful in the controlled indoor environments of high-tech ‘vertical farms’.

“These type of robots will open up a very new type of use case,” co-lead author Suhan Kim, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), told Reuters.

“For instance, we can think of artificial pollination. So since our robot looks like an insect, and it’s real lightweight and small, if you can really precisely control the robot we might be able to do something on top of flowers or leaves, which really requires very delicate interactions.”

The robots, each lighter than a paperclip, can hover for approximately 1,000 seconds, over 100 times longer than previous models. They are also capable of performing high-speed acrobatic maneuvers, including double aerial flips.

The new design halves the size of the team’s earlier model, with increased stability while also freeing up space for electronics.

“We want the robot to be able to have a [circuit] board, battery and the sensors on board. So to do that, we need much higher payload than now. So what we’re currently pushing very hard right now is to optimize the robot design to be able to lift more and more so that we can afford these potential payloads,” said Kim.

Long term, the team hope this will enable autonomous flight outside the lab. This technology could significantly boost crop yields in multi-level warehouses by providing a more efficient method for artificial pollination.

Vertical farming, the name given to the production of crops in a series of stacked levels, often in a controlled environment, is a fast-growing industry with billions of dollars being pumped into projects across the globe.

It is seen as part of the solution to the food security challenge posed by population expansion at a time when climate change and geopolitics threaten supply.

“This doesn’t really mean that we want to entirely replace honeybees in nature, but what we sometimes hear from the people in the relevant field is that there are really good cases where we can’t rely on honeybees anymore, such as like indoor farming, where we can’t really have honeybee homes in it because of safety issues or some environmental issues. So in that case, we can start thinking of using our robot, if it works well, for tools like indoor farming,” added Kim.

Despite the team’s improvements, the robotic insects still cannot match the capabilities of natural pollinators. However, the researchers aim to improve the robots’ flight time and precision to enable them to land and take off from the center of a flower.

The research was published in the journal Science Robotics.

Thinking About Reducing Tillage? Start Here

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 20:57:19 GMT

Reducing tillage means exactly what you think — making fewer passes through the field and/or decreasing the intensity of the passes. Dialing back tillage can increase energy savings, water-holding capacity, soil biological activity and organic matter as well as reduce compaction.

Jodi DeJong-Hughes, a University of Minnesota Extension regional educator, believes it doesn’t have to be no-till or nothing — every farmer can reduce their tillage.

“Reduce the number of passes, reduce how aggressive the machine is or reduce the depth it goes into the soil,” she says.

There are several reduced tillage practices, including:

vertical-till
strip-till
zone-till
no-till

As a general rule of thumb, reduced tillage should leave at least two thirds of the surface covered with residue after planting.

The biggest hindrance for many people isn’t soil, according to DeJong-Hughes. It’s tradition. Especially for those who tried to reduce tillage a long time ago to no avail, it’s easy to be discouraged from trying again. However, in the past 15 years a lot has changed, including equipment, seed genetics, seed treatments and weed, disease and insect resistance.

Switching from conventional tillage systems to reduced tillage can be challenging. Here are some tips from new and veteran reduced tillers:

Use a chopping corn head to make residue more manageable.
Get fertilizer placement right, which might mean at planting.
Be prepared to plant later.
Consider experimenting on a small number of acres first to avoid operation-wide mistakes.
Know location and weather constraints for no-till
Use effective residue movers during planting.
Be realistic about how many acres you can no-till or strip-till.

What Is Vertical-Till?

The concept of vertical tillage is well-known, but what it entails isn’t fully understood in some corners of farm country. In simple terms, Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist, says a true vertical tillage system involves understanding the soil profile, addressing compaction issues, ensuring each pass achieves the goal of the system, respecting residue cover and providing a well-prepared seedbed for the planter pass. Simply put, a vertical system means managing the entire soil profile for uniformity.

Vertical tillage tools have deep-digging shanks that break up compacted layers of soil, eliminating the density change layer put in place by horizontal tillage. Tools include: in-line rippers, chisel plows, disk chisels and disk rippers, which are used with harrows in the spring to level the surface without putting in horizontal layers.

How Deep Does Vertical Tillage Go?
Determining how deep to run fall tools depends on the depth of your topsoil.

“Running 15" deep works great in deep topsoil, such as in central Illinois,” Ferrie says. “But in other areas, running that deep will break shanks and bring up rocks.”

In very shallow soil, deep tillage is only 7" to 8" deep. So, you’re limited mostly to chisel plowing.

To get uniform shatter with vertical tillage tools, the depth must equal half the distance of the shank spacing. In other words, if you want to run a chisel plow 7" deep, place the shanks on 14" or 15" centers. It’s important to get shattering all the way across.

“If you can only pull an in-line ripper 11" deep, stop and pull the shanks in so you get shattering all the way across,” Ferrie says. “Or switch to a chisel plow or disk ripper.”

The later you do vertical tillage, the tighter the window. Disk rippers, disk chisels and chisel plows provide a bigger window than in-line rippers because they work in wetter conditions.

“Uniform shattering is easier to attain with disk rippers and disk chisels because we have many shanks,” Ferrie says. Because uniform shattering is a function of depth, shank spacing, speed and soil moisture, you might have to set the machine for each field.

Because chisel plows, disk chisels and disk rippers have staggered shanks, they leave a pattern of peaks and valleys of untilled soil beneath the surface. “The peaks should be no closer than 4" to 5" from the surface,” Ferrie says. “Otherwise, you’ll wind up planting into peaks of unworked soil.”

Fall Fieldwork Must Leave A Level Surface
With fall vertical-tillage tools, you want to leave the surface as level as possible because you will replace secondary tillage with harrows. You can add leveling devices to the rear.

“In some cases, when there is a horizontal layer, the soil wants to flip up like gravestones,” Ferrie says. “Usually, this happens the first time a farmer runs a vertical-tillage tool. Leveling devices can solve the problem.”

You want to come out of winter with peaks and valleys no deeper than 3". Deeper valleys lead to herbicide streaking, and dry peaks and wet valleys make it difficult to get soil uniform for planting.

Select chisel points based on what you want to accomplish.

“To leave residue, run a straight point and move the shanks in closer,” Ferrie says. “To bury residue, use twisted shanks with a cutter on the front of the tool. Straight cutters leave more residue on the surface; slightly concave cutters seize and bury some of the residue.”

Final leveling is done in the spring, using a leveling harrow.

“They do no horizontal tillage — just level the surface,” Ferrie says. “They don’t bury residue. If residue is a concern, you must decide how much residue to bury with your primary tillage.”

Vertical-tillage harrows are designed to run 7 mph to 12 mph. Tractors and sprayers should be equipped with flotation tires because there will be no opportunity to remove compaction caused by wheel tracks.

Spring Fieldwork and Planter Considerations
When you run your harrow in the spring, you’ll find out how good a job you did with your primary tillage.

“If the tractor rocks, you didn’t go deep enough; the peaks and valleys are too close to the surface,” Ferrie explains. “If you did it right, you should be able to drink a cup of coffee as you go across the field. You might fight to steer the tractor because of the softness of the soil, but you won’t bounce.”

Ferrie adds: “If you did a good job of primary tillage, it should be easy to set the right down pressure on your planter units. If you didn’t, it will be almost impossible because there will be hard and soft spots.”

With vertical tillage, you must have row cleaners on your planter because you are dealing with more residue than in conventional tillage.

What Is Strip-Till and Zone-Till?

If you farm in a wet or cold climate but want to minimize soil disturbance, consider strip-till or zone-till. Both tillage systems are just a step away from no-till. Strip-till is done 6" or 7" deep; zone-till uses parabolic shanks to go even deeper.

“Both systems break up horizontal layers, but zone-till takes more horsepower than strip-till,” Ferrie says. “With either system, you don’t eliminate compacted horizons, but you do create pathways for roots.

“Strip-till works when 80% of a field is ready to plant, but 20% is too wet. It is ideal in shallow soil where deep tillage hits rocks, and it allows poorly drained soils to warm faster. It’s a modified no-till program for use as we move north.” he adds.

The biggest obstacle to strip-till is building strips in a timely manner in the fall. This becomes a bigger problem as you move north into northern Iowa or Minnesota where the ground might be frozen when you finish harvest.

You need a person and a tractor available to run the strip-till rig while harvest is underway, Ferrie advises.

“If you harvest all your corn and soybeans first, you may wind up strip-tilling in the mud,” Ferrie says. One way to solve that problem is to hire a custom strip-till operator.

If you farm in an area suited for fall nitrogen application, applying nitrogen when you strip-till makes the practice more feasible. However, there’s a catch.

“Soil must be dry for shattering and building the ridge, and that usually occurs right after soybean harvest,” Ferrie explains.

Timing is Key When Building Strips
“Building the strip at the right time is an important factor to having a good seedbed next spring,” Ferrie says. “On the other hand, that might not be the best time to apply nitrogen. If you lose it, it’s harmful to the environment, and you’ll have to apply more later.

“If it’s too warm, you’re better off to shut off the nitrogen and build the ridge while it’s dry and apply nitrogen later. You can still apply phosphate and potash,” he adds.

Some farmers can’t do strip-till without nitrogen because the bar they use belongs to a fertilizer company, which insists on nitrogen use. Buying your own bar might not be practical because of the cost.

“Once strips are in, the biggest problem is staying on the ridge when you plant in the spring,” Ferrie explains. “The person who makes the strips should also run the planter or use auto-steer. I recommend auto-steer if a custom applicator makes your strips.”

The better you stay on the strips, the easier it will be to set your planter, he adds. And, the more residue you move off the strip in the fall, the easier it will be to plant.

You Must Have a Backup Plan
“If the soil is wet, the strip-till bar will cut slots,” Ferrie says. “It will look like a ridge, but smears in the knife slot will still be there next spring. When someone strip-tills too wet, seeds fall 3" to 5" down in the slot. There may not be enough of them to hurt population a great deal, but it will hurt ear count due to uneven emergence. High ear count is a key to high yield.”

For plan B, Ferrie suggests moving strip-till to the spring.

“If you do that, don’t apply anhydrous ammonia,” he cautions. “Switch to a nitrogen solution, or pull the bar and apply your nitrogen later. We’ve built strips in March and early April, and when we got rain to settle them we got a decent seedbed.”

But in dry years, spring strips may dry out too much, leading to germination problems.

“If we make strips in early April and it doesn’t rain, we’ll no-till off to the side of the strip,” Ferrie says. “If it’s too dry to plant in the strips, it’s dry enough to no-till.”

Before moving into strip-till, ask yourself:

Can you manage disease?
Are you willing to take the time to adjust your planter for conditions in each field?
Can you control gully erosion in strips on rolling ground?
Can you control weeds with a burndown herbicide?
How will you manage traffic so you don’t drive over the strips with herbicide and fertilizer applications.

Equip your planter as you would for no-till.

“If the ridge is uneven, your planter must be able to roll dry soil back into the ridge and level it,” Ferrie says. “I prefer floating row cleaners with depth-band wheels so they stay engaged all the time.”

Balance pH before moving to strip-till, he advises, because you will no longer be mixing soil. After you begin strip-tilling, apply smaller lime applications more frequently.

What Is No-Till?

No-till is similar to strip-till and zone-till, but it requires more management. Farm size often is an issue.

“Some of the most profitable farms I know use no-till,” Ferrie says. “But they are sized and equipped to plant in a timely fashion. With 7,000 acres, when you’re farming 35 miles from home, you can’t wait for a field to dry.”

Before committing to no-till, ask yourself: Can you manage weeds and disease without tillage?

“As with strip-till, you need to control the first flush of weeds with a burndown herbicide instead of a soil finisher,” Ferrie says. “In addition, you may need to apply a burndown treatment in the fall.”

Disease becomes a bigger issue, especially as you move south from the latitude of central Illinois.

“If you select genetics for disease resistance, scout fields and know when to spray fungicides, you’ll be OK,” Ferrie says.

Continuous corn is not impossible with no-till, but it is more difficult, especially as you go north.

“From central Illinois south, you get more residue decomposition during the winter,” he explains. “Never plant the same genetics back to back.”

Your planter must be equipped to handle residue.

“The idea that you’ll just give no-till a shot without row cleaners and adequate down pressure is a recipe for failure,” Ferrie says.

As with strip-till, balance pH, phosphorus and potassium before you start no-tilling. Then make frequent, smaller lime applications.

Be flexible and patient with the decision making. “I know farmers who have been successful with no-till for decades,” Ferrie says.

“But if they get in trouble — from a wet fall that results in compaction or a manure application that causes wheel tracks — they go back to vertical tillage to eliminate the problem. They may have to do that every five or six years.”

For first-timers, Ferrie recommends spending up to three years preparing soil for no-till planting.

“The first step is to dig in your field and examine soil structure and root growth to identify dense layers,” he explains. “Remove them by using cover crops with roots that can penetrate compacted layers and stabilize new pores, equipment or a combination of both.”

No one knows better than you that the future of your farm depends on balancing practices and profits that sustain your land, resources and family . The stakes are evolving based on weather patterns, technology, market demand and more. What actions are you taking to remain resilient?

Ferrie: If Rains Shut Down Your Fall Tillage, It's Time to Implement Plan B

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 16:53:54 GMT

Recent rainfall in parts of the Midwest has been a double-edged sword for farmers.

On the one hand, it’s been a welcomed event, restocking water tables in many areas and setting up corn and soybean ground for good freezing and thaw cycles this winter.

On the other hand, the rains have slowed or prevented many farmers from getting their fall tillage or strips completed.

Evaluate Soil Conditions

Farmers always need a plan B for fall seasons like this, notes Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

“One plan is to be ready in case the window opens up in December for you to finish up,” he says.

However, Ferrie adds that a bad strip built now won’t make for a good seed bed next spring.

“My advice – if you have a row freshener – is make that your plan B. Make your strips next spring with the freshener a week or two ahead of planting,” he advises, adding: “I’m not a fan of running a strip till bar with a knife in the spring. And while it works better in the sandier soils than it would in the clays, it tends to create a rough and kind of tough seed bed to plant into.”

He adds that good seed beds have uniform moisture at seed depth at planting time.

“Running a knife in the spring, you’ll become very dependent on timely rainfall to settle that strip, reset that moisture, without the help of freezing and thawing. Take the knives off and let the row cleaners and the coulters do the work,” Ferrie advises.

Consider Your System

When it comes to fall tillage, the decision you make now really depends on what system you’re running. If you’re in a horizontal tillage system – where you’re going to be fall chiseling, followed by one or two horizontal passes next spring, like with the field cultivator or soil finisher disc – you’ve got time to evaluate options, Ferrie notes.

“Your fall pass will be more of a function of traction,” he says. “Can you pull it? In a horizontal system, you don’t need to have full-width shatter, because your finishing pass is what makes the seed bed.

“This primary pass can be done in the spring, but you’ll need to keep your finishing pass coupled to the primary pass if this happens – beyond the window of freezing and thawing – to help you melt down those clods,” Ferrie adds.

Plans For A Vertical System

Ferrie says if you already farm in a vertical system, you still need to get full-width shatter with your primary tillage. Your primary tillage is part of your seed bed-prep. He explains that full-width shatter is a function of shank spacing, shank depth, soil moisture, horsepower and traction.

“No matter when this tillage is done, we need the top 4" to 6" to be shattered,” he says. “This is harder to do with the disc rippers, where you’re trying to go deep. It’s going to be easier to do with the hybrid chisels running closer shank spacings.”

If you’re already farming in a vertical system, farming without layers, Ferrie’s suggestion would be to consider making your plan B for tillage no-till.

“This has been a good fall for no-tilling – no combine or grain carts to deal with. You have plenty of time to put your fall burndown on for weed control. And, if planting in no-till bean stubble creates more anxiety than you can handle, hit it in the spring real light with your vertical harrow, with no angle and very shallow,” he says, in this week’s Boots In The Field podcast.

Ferrie Responds to Liming Questions

Farmers have been asking Ferrie what to do about lime investments they have made on land they might not be farming in the near future. In some cases, this is due to the potential of that land to be developed.

“Solar projects are the big one that’s gobbling up farm ground,” he says. “It doesn’t seem right to me to take some of the most fertile ground in Illinois out of production for solar when we have 9.5 billion people to feed, but that’s a rant for another day. I understand the why because of what these landlords are being offered.”

If you might lose land to a solar project, Ferrie says he would want some insurance that you would be reimbursed for the lime applied during the last four years.

“I would ask for it in writing,” he advises. “Once this lime is spread, we can’t get it back. I would be careful of what I do with my P and K on these parcels as well.”

Listen to the complete podcast here: Boots In The Field Report November 22, 2024

For your next read:
10 Smart Ways to Start Cutting Your Fertilizer Bill

How to Adjust Your Fertility Practices for No-Till and Cover Crops

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 20:42:27 GMT

Government incentives aimed at mitigating climate change are almost sure to motivate you, and your landlords, to move toward no-till and cover crops. That’s the reason for our series of stories aimed at helping you convert to vertical farming systems, where those practices perform best.

As you prepare to plant your first crop in a vertical environment, whether it’s one field or a whole farm, keep in mind the 4Rs of fertilizer management — right product, rate, time and place — might be different from traditional horizontal, full-width tillage systems.

Residue might hamper phosphorus uptake. Surface cover slows soil warming. As a result, soils that test adequate to high in phosphorus might be deficient early in the spring.

“Corn will grow when the soil temperature reaches 50˚F,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “But Farm Journal’s on-farm studies show phosphorus won’t become available in significant amounts until the soil temperature reaches 65˚F. That’s when soil organisms responsible for releasing nutrients start to become active. If young corn plants run short of phosphorus before that happens, ear girth will be reduced.

“You can prevent young plants from stalling by applying phosphorus fertilizer with the planter,” Ferrie continues. “The roots will begin to grow at 50˚F. When they reach the starter band, they will pick up the phosphorus even if the soil temperature is less than 65˚F.

“If soil tests high in phosphorus, and you wait for 50˚F soil temperature to plant, you might need only a low rate of starter in the furrow. But if you push planting conditions in cold soil, the in-furrow application will help, but it might not be enough to get to knee-high corn. You’ll need a higher rate, placed beside the row.”

Most cover crops raise the carbon penalty. As soil organism populations increase, due to an abundant residue food supply, they consume soil nutrients — nitrogen and sulfur, as well as phosphorus — making them temporarily unavailable to plants.

“In cover crop fields, you might want to apply a higher rate of starter containing all three elements,” Ferrie says.

N, P and S Placement Tips
“Place phosphorus where young roots can find it quickly because it does not move in the soil,” Ferrie says. “Left on the surface behind the planter, it won’t move down fast enough to provide a starter response. Brace roots will pick it up later, but that’s too far along in the growing season, and you will lose ear girth. Put higher rates of phosphorus beside the furrow and close to seed depth or a little below. That sets up a relay system that will keep plants trucking along even if soil temperature crashes after planting.

“Sulfate sulfur can be placed in a band beside the row or left on the surface, where it will move down with rain,” Ferrie explains. “Be careful putting sulfur in the furrow because it can burn the seed.

“Nitrogen can be applied on the surface at planting or incorporated by dragging a chain (but fertilizer may splatter onto the planter in windy conditions). There are many planter attachments that can slightly incorporate nitrogen, but they are too shallow for phosphorus. So, you may need two systems: one for applying phosphorus and one for nitrogen and sulfur. Or you can band everything 2" below the surface and 2" beside the seed furrow.”

How Timing, Placement Affect Yield

This on-farm Farm Journal study shows the potential reward, and the risk, from split-applying nitrogen fertilizer. Trials 1 and 2 were in Ipava silt loam and trials 3, 4 and 5 were in Sable silt loam. A total of 200 lb. of nitrogen was applied. In each trial, 30 lb. per acre of the nitrogen was applied with the planter. The study compared these treatments:

Applying half the nitrogen at the V6 stage always yielded more than applying all of it before planting. But applying half the nitrogen at the VT stage yielded less. “Two factors came into play,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “First, waiting to sidedress at the VT stage caused the corn to suffer stress during the rapid-growth stage. The secret of high yield is to never let corn plants have a bad day. And then, illustrating the risk of delayed sidedressing, after we applied nitrogen at the VT stage, the weather turned dry. The late-sidedressed corn turned yellow and did not recover until it rained four weeks later, by which time the plants were in the R3 stage.”

Fertility is a Balancing Act

The trick to applying the 4Rs as you convert from horizontal to vertical farming is to use the most efficient product, rate, timing and placement without increasing total fertilizer applied. Besides good stewardship, following the 4Rs might qualify you for payments from incentive programs. Here are some ways to maximize fertilizer efficiency:

Count starter fertilizer as part of your total application, not an addition to it.
Broadcasting nitrogen and sulfur, in dry fertilizer or a herbicide carrier, reduces the amount of planter fertilizer you need to apply. However, a banded application at planting is at least twice as efficient. “You’ll see a bigger response to 30 lb. of nitrogen per acre applied with the planter than to 60 lb. per acre broadcast,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie, citing on-farm studies.
Apply a higher rate of starter if you’re dealing with cover crop or continuous corn residue to compensate for the greater carbon penalty. Following a dry fall, remember you will have more residue and a higher carbon penalty the following spring.
Some incentive programs pay growers to reduce their nitrogen rate. Before enrolling, put out test plots to measure the effect. If you do reduce your total nitrogen rate, split your application to become more efficient. Test soil for nitrate at sidedressing time to make sure the crop doesn’t go hungry. “In many areas, the last several years have been friendly to low nitrogen rates because the weather has been dry,” Ferrie says. “Don’t get caught if the summer turns wet.”
Be sure to apply enough early nitrogen to carry corn well into the rapid-growth stage. “The purpose of the nitrogen that we sidedress is for grain fill after pollination,” Ferrie says. “If you don’t apply enough nitrogen up front to supply corn well into the rapid-growth stage, it’s essential you don’t delay the timing of your sidedress application.”

10 Tips to Shorten Your Cover Crop Learning Curve

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:58:35 GMT

For years, governments have channeled their support for agriculture through incentives that nudge you in directions they feel are beneficial, such as erosion control, clean water and wildlife habitat. In the near future, those incentives will also include climate change mitigation.

You’ll be rewarded for practices that minimize soil disturbance and sequester carbon, such as no-till, strip-till and cover cropping. Decades of on-farm studies, conducted by Ken Ferrie and the Farm Journal Test Plot program, prove those practices only perform their best in a vertical farming system, as opposed to horizontal tillage which creates yield-limiting soil layers.

Hence our series of articles to help you transition to vertical farming by removing dense and compacted soil layers, balancing fertility and pH through the soil profile and learning vertical tillage techniques. The final requirement to reap benefits from climate-based incentives is mastering cover crops.

“Farmers who learn as much as possible about cover crops now will fare much better than those who go whole hog the first time they plant cover crops,” says Ferrie, who serves as a Farm Journal field agronomist. “No-till and covers need to become part of your farm resume before incentive programs, or climate-conscious landowners, require you to grow them.

“The experience you gain by trying cover crops on a small scale will help you evaluate deals offered by the government or by landowners,” Ferrie adds.

Here are some tips to shorten your learning curve:

1. Set an objective.
Decide what you want to accomplish — for example: compaction mitigation, erosion control, improved soil health, increased biodiversity and nitrogen fixation. Then choose a cover species that accomplishes your goal and fits your climate and farm operation.

2. Think like a scientist — neither optimistic nor pessimistic.
“If you or a neighbor has had a bad experience with cover crops, try to figure out what went wrong and use that knowledge to help guide your new trials,” Ferrie says.

3. Start small.
“Expect hiccups, and learn from them,” Ferrie advises.

4. Seize can’t-miss opportunities.
“While most cover crops do not produce an immediate financial return, there are a few situations where planting covers is a no-brainer,” Ferrie says. “One is planting a cover after silage harvest and grazing or chopping it for forage, and where sandy soil is subject to blowing, planting into a cover can reduce wind erosion and protect the young plants.”

5. Begin with easy-to-manage cover crops that winterkill.
Oats and radishes top that list. “Then learn to manage covers that overwinter and must be terminated in the spring because they will be required for many carbon sequestration incentive programs,” Ferrie says.

6. Don’t expect higher yield or lower production cost, at least not right away.
“To achieve those the first year, all the stars, including Mother Nature, must align, and they seldom do,” Ferrie says. “You will be setting yourself up for disappointment.”

7. Calculate both your financial ROI as well as your true ROI.
“Knowing your actual ROI is essential for evaluating incentive programs, land rental opportunities and your own stewardship goals, such as improved soil health,” Ferrie says.

8. Become an expert terminator.
“Killing cover crops on time in the spring is crucial,” Ferrie says. “Our studies show the quicker you kill a cover, the less yield drag — but the sooner you kill it, the less environmental benefit. If you sign a carbon-based contract, understand how long your cover needs to grow. If you use a custom applicator to terminate your cover crop, let him know this ahead of time. Have a Plan B, such as a plane, drone or ATV sprayer to kill the cover if wet weather keeps your ground applicator out of the field — covers will jump when the soil warms up. Planting into a tall cover crop might look cool on YouTube, but our trials show a stiff yield penalty.”

9. Learn to manage pests.
“Anytime you have a green cover, you’ll have more insects, disease and varmints such as voles,” Ferrie says.

10. Understand the risks.
“Some years, covers delay planting by keeping soil wetter and colder,” Ferrie says. “If it turns dry in June, they might pull out all the soil moisture and lock up the cash crop until it rains. This can have a big impact on yield.”

Calculate Your Cover Crop ROI

“In our studies, we’re excited to see equal yields, let alone a yield increase, following a cover crop,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “But equal yield leaves no room to pay for seed, establishment and termination of the cover crop.”

“Deciding whether cover cropping is sustainable for your operation requires knowing the cover crop’s financial ROI, income minus expenses, and its true ROI, which includes less tangible factors,” Ferrie says. “Some growers want to reduce erosion, water runoff or nutrient leaching, improve soil health or increase biological diversity. For them, growing a cover crop might produce a negative financial ROI, but knowing they are improving their land creates a positive true ROI.“

Based on Farm Journal studies, the financial ROI from cover crops won’t be high enough to persuade many farmers to plant covers on cash-rented acres.

“Within our customer base, the cost of establishing cover crops ranges from $35 to $85 per acre,” Ferrie explains. “If yield slips, and it often does, that puts pressure on growers.”

That situation is likely to lead to strong incentive programs from government agencies.

“Right now, current incentive programs can offset some of your cost as you learn to grow cover crops and calculate financial and true ROI,” Ferrie says. “With that knowledge, you can evaluate future incentives that might benefit your farm and the environment.”

Ferrie: It's Only February, but Iowa Farmers are Considering Field Work and Anhydrous Applications

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 20:51:15 GMT

While drought conditions have eased up in many parts of the country, that’s not the case for Iowa. Nearly all of the state is experiencing some degree of dryness – especially the north-central part of the state and further east to the Illinois line. Much of that area is gripped by D2 and D3 drought conditions.

Iowa farmers in those areas are considering whether to do field work and apply anhydrous ammonia – even though the calendar is still set on February, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist and owner of Crop-Tech Consulting, Heyworth, Ill.

He has fielded a variety of questions from farmers in the state during the past week. Here is a summary of what he shared with them during this week’s Boots In The Field podcast.

Have A Plan In Place

“With regard to anhydrous applications, make sure the soil is firm enough to hold the tractor and the tank without creating track issues. If so, I would say let her rip,” he says.

However, before heading to the field and applying anhydrous, Ferrie advises growers to firm up what crop they’re going to plant.

“The main thing to be sure of is that you’re sticking with corn for this 2024 crop,” Ferrie says. “Growers have been kicking around the idea of going beans-on-beans, given these markets. Once you put your anhydrous on you’re kind of locked into corn.”

Additional questions Ferrie fielded this week addressed spring chisel plowing and, in some cases, chisel plowing fields where cattle have been grazing.

“Here again, if it’s dry enough to get good soil shatter, my advice would be to go ahead but with one caveat,” he says. “Level these fields in a matter of hours after the chisel. Now you might be able to chisel through the night and level during the day, but don’t let the soil dry out and clod up on you.”

Ferrie is concerned there may be very few freezing-and-thawing days left this winter that could melt a clod, and you don’t want to be planting into cloddy soils.

“Level her up, and pray for rain to give you a sterile seedbed to plant into if that’s what you opt to do,” he advises. “I would stick with shallow chisels and not deep ripping. The deeper we work this the more risk we have if it doesn’t rain.”

Some Iowa farmers are also considering whether to run their vertical tillage equipment now.

“Here again, you need to be dry enough that the tractor tracks are not going to be a problem. The same goes for row fresheners,” he says. “So, level these fields up, pray for rain and plant into that sterile seedbed.”

First Spring Pass Can Create A Compaction Layer

One farmer asked, “What about running my soil finisher and/or my high-speed disk on bean stubble?”

Ferrie says that decision is a bit trickier to make or recommend.

“To start with, 80% of the compaction service calls I go on in the summer are caused by the first pass in the spring – yes, the one you’re about to make,” he says. “When we run the one-pass program in bean stubble, your horizontal layer will put in a barrier that will prevent water from moving up and down through the soil. Come planting time in April and May, you could be out of water, unable to get it up through the layer, or you could be too wet because you can’t get water down through that layer.”

His advice: “Keep those tools in the shed. Keep your powder dry, and wait until closer to planting when you’re going to be able to control your water route.”

Ferrie adds that a soil finisher should stay a couple rounds ahead of your planter.

“And if it’s like last year, you’re going to want to keep your high-speed disk in the same pass as the planter. Because our high-speed disk, again, is putting in a lot shallower layer, and that water leaves very quickly,” he says.

Don’t Follow Your Neighbors’ Lead

Ferrie says to remember to not make decisions about when to go to the field based on what your neighbor does.

“Your neighbor doesn’t decide when your ground is fit. Just because the neighbors light up doesn’t mean the soil is fit in your field. Your neighbors can have different soil types, different amounts of drainage, and they’re not the ones that dictate what you do,” he says.

“If the neighbor is running a shallow vertical harrow, it may be dry enough for him to get started. But if you’re going to run a soil finisher four-and-a-half or five-inches deep, the ground very well may not be fit,” he cautions. “You are the keeper of your own acres.

“It makes me a little nervous to give our Iowa guys a green light on some of these practices. I wonder how many Illinois farmers will jump the starting line. We need more time in most fields here locally, but our time will be coming, too, if this weather continues,” he adds.

Be Proactive With Topdressing Wheat

In central Illinois this week, many farmers are getting their wheat crop topdressed.

“Anybody who hasn’t, I would use this window of opportunity to get that done. With these temperatures, the wheat will come out of dormancy very quickly. Some fields are dealing with tougher stands due to planting date and low-lying areas.

“If those tougher wheat stands are going to corn, in case of a winterkill, I would still go ahead and topdress them. If they’re going to soybeans, I would hold up see how the wheat overwinters. If you keep it you may have to switch to urea instead of liquid to topdress it,” he adds.

Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System

Fertilizer Relay System Gives Corn a Big Push Out of the Gate

There’s More Than One Way to Raise Yields

Two Important Factors For Fertilizer Prices This Spring

5 Tips To Achieve The Best Fertilizer Spread Pattern

Ferrie: Freezing and Thawing Cycles Can Help Or Hurt Compaction

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 23:04:36 GMT

It’s beginning to look a lot like spring across much of the Midwest, and that’s not necessarily good news for fields going into corn and soybeans.

Fields would fare better if more freezing and thawing cycles occurred this winter to help reset soil density and kill a few more bugs, according to Ken Ferrie. He recently answered a farmer’s question about the value of such cycles.

“The grower heard us say during Corn College that freezing and thawing will not take out compaction layers,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist and owner of Crop-Tech Consulting, Heyworth, Ill.

“In one of his college classes, they told him that the freezing-thawing process would take out compaction layers, so he’s kind of wondering which way it really is.”

Ferrie says while freezing and thawing can help reset soil density, the process does a poor job of removing compaction layers. In some situations, the freezing-thawing process can make compaction even worse.

“I know that sounds wrong, but a sudden change in soil density can cause problems with root growth and water movement in the soil,” he says.

Soils Can Permit Or Restrict Root Growth

Loose soil at a field’s surface allows for the corn root system to get larger in diameter, from the start of growth. If the soil slowly tightens the roots will adjust to that tightening, and they will move on down into the soil.

“But if the soil suddenly gets tighter at a horizontal layer, the roots don’t have time to adjust and they’re going to turn and grow along the top of that layer,” Ferrie says.

Furthermore, the compaction layer creates a barrier that moisture won’t penetrate well.

“When we get rain, it soaks into the soil and it’s going to stop at that compaction layer,” Ferrie explains. “The moisture is going to build up above that compaction layer because it’s held up.”

Once winter freezes occur, the soils sitting above the compaction layer with water stored in them will expand at a much higher rate compared to the soil in and below the compaction layer. Those areas often contain reduced moisture levels.

Don’t Be Deceived By Appearances At The Field Surface

What often results from the moisture sitting on top of the compaction layer are ideal growing conditions at the soil surface, Ferrie notes. But the compaction problem remains, sometimes for years.

“I’ve personally found plow soles that were 20 years old and still restricting root systems and water movement,” he says. “This was in northern Iowa where it gets a lot colder than it does here in central Illinois.”

When farmers are able to till up compaction layers, freezing and thawing can be effective at expanding in all directions and start to rebuild and homogenize soil density.

Bottom line, Ferrie says, the freezing-thawing process is important to crop production but there are some things that it just can’t do.

For more details on identifying compaction and addressing them, check out the following articles. Also, you can listen to this week’s entire Boots In The Field podcast at the link below.

Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out

Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

Ferrie: Does Spring Or Fall Horizontal Tillage Cause More Density Layers?

4 Stories to Learn More About a Vertical Tillage System

Tillage Tips to Fix a Mess

Complete These 8 Steps To Transition to Vertical Farming

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 19:27:37 GMT

You’re almost ready. You’ve removed dense and compacted soil layers, balanced fertility and pH through the profile and set up your soil for vertical farming. That’s how you’ll need to farm to reap the full benefits of climate-inspired incentives emphasizing reduced tillage, cover crops and residue cover.

Here are a few final boxes to check as you prepare to transition from horizontal farming to vertical.

1. Spread residue evenly.
Spread residue uniformly across the width of your combine, especially when harvesting soybeans, advises Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Horizontal tillage distributes this residue and prevents problems,” he explains. “But if you no-till into uneven strips of surface residue, it will cause streaks of slow-growing corn.”

2. Write a plan for each field or farm.
List the practices you will use and the goals you want to achieve. Share your plan with employees, custom applicators and others involved with your operation. “Good communication eliminates a lot of issues,” Ferrie says.

3. Choose your system(s).
“Many vertical farming systems can be adapted to any operation,” Ferrie says. “Implementing one system over every acre keeps things simple, streamlines your equipment inventory and also makes things easier for your employees. But you might want to implement individual approaches for various farms or fields because of drainage, slope, erosion control, disease issues, soil health and other considerations.”

4. Get farm managers and landowners on board.
“Your choice of a vertical system might rest on the landowner’s or farm manager’s desires,” Ferrie says. “Some might not want no-till or strip-till, while others insist on them. If you no-till, make sure the owners realize they’ll have to be patient, willing to wait until planting conditions are right, even if neighbors who disk or field cultivate are already planting. If a landowner is worried about planting delays, consider running a vertical harrow to warm and dry a few fields and give you a place to start.”

5. Gear up your planter and its operators.
Equip the planter for no-till and the highest-residue conditions it will encounter. “A planter set up to handle no-till and high residue can be used in all systems,” Ferrie says. “But a planter equipped for conventional tillage won’t perform well with no-till or high volumes of residue.” Make sure your operators know how to run the equipment and understand what you want to achieve.

Equip your planter for the highest-residue conditions you could encounter. Make sure operators understand the equipment and the goals you want to achieve.

6. Re-invent your weed control program.
“One of the biggest benefits of horizontal tillage is weed control,” Ferrie says. “When you stop using a field cultivator or high-speed disk, you’ll have to control weeds using only herbicides. If your vertical harrow is taking out weeds, you’re not running it right — you’re doing horizontal tillage. Set properly, a vertical harrow’s only jobs are to size residue and level peaks and valleys. Discuss weed management with your suppliers and with neighbors who already are using vertical systems, and plan the program you’ll use.”

7. Be careful of wheel tracks in strip-till and no-till.
“Deep tracks or ruts from sprayers, sidedress applicators, combines, grain carts, fertilizer trucks and manure applicators will cause planting and uniform-growth problems in the following year’s crop,” Ferrie warns. “The longer you go without tillage, the firmer your soil will become; but monitor tracks closely during the first few seasons.”

8. Easy does it.
“Any time you make a major system shift, the learning curve will be steep,” Ferrie says. “Disasters can happen. I recommend starting small and learning on a couple fields. But start now so you’ll have your vertical system in place when incentives come along in the future.”

How to Taper Off Horizontal Tillage

“If you’re used to making multiple tillage passes — one in the fall and one or two in the spring — it might be best to continue that pattern for awhile as you transition to reduced tillage and vertical farming,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist. “In that situation, continue with fall tillage, using a ripper or hybrid chisel, which may require more horsepower than your horizontal program.” (Hybrid chisels, Ferrie’s term, feature clearance for tillage and residue flow, adjustable depth and gang angle for the front cutters, and multiple options and depth control for the leveling section.)

“Make sure your tillage tool shatters the soil all the way across the implement,” he says. “You want no more than 3" peaks and valleys after overwintering. In the spring, level the surface for planting with a vertical harrow.”

As you start to get comfortable with your vertical system, experiment with more reduced tillage, strip-till and no-till.

Have a Backup Plan

As with anything else, vertical farming systems need a backup plan. For example:

If a poorly drained field can’t be planted in time with no-till (in the opinion of either you or the landowner), consider strip-till — but be aware strip-tilling requires equipment and time in the fall, and it must be completed in a timely fashion.
Strip-till needs a backup plan, too, in case weather prevents you from getting it done in the fall. “Spring strip fresheners are an option,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Or you can no-till the field for one year.”
Weather might force you to leave ruts during harvest or herbicide application. “Plan how you’re going to remove those ruts while preserving your vertical format,” Ferrie says. “For example, till with a hybrid chisel and level with a vertical harrow before going back to no-till.”

Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:42:49 GMT

In some vertical farming systems, such as no-till and strip-till, you will no longer mix nutrients deep into the soil profile with horizontal tillage. Much like you addressed soil density by removing layers , you’ll want to balance fertility throughout the rooting zone before transitioning to a vertical farming system.

Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent applications of lime, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.

But won’t nutrients stratify?
“When you reduce tillage, you get stratification of some nutrients, especially non-mobile nutrients, such as phosphorus, in the top 3",” Ferrie says. “In the second 3" to 6" we have documented little change in fertility levels over time, thanks to biochannels, earthworms, nightcrawlers and natural leaching. Some of our clients’ farms carry the same nutrient levels at the 3" to 6" depth as they did 30 years ago when they were converted to no-till.”

Although farmers worry about it, stratification near the surface usually is a good thing, Ferrie adds.

“Stratification actually is a form of banding, which increases nutrient efficiency,” he explains. “Most nutrient feeding happens in the top 6" of soil, and the largest portion is in the top 3". The presence of oxygen makes that the most biologically active portion of the soil, where aerobic organisms recycle and release nutrients for the crop. You don’t have that activity at lower levels because there’s much less oxygen; so even if nutrients are present, they might not be available for plants.”

Think about it: aerobic activity in the top few inches of soil is the reason wooden fence posts rot 3" or 4" below the surface.

A well-prepared vertical system carries its own drought-proofing, Ferrie notes. “If soil dries out at the surface, the oxygen-rich layer moves downward and roots feed at the 3" to 6" depth. So you want fertility at that level to be in good shape before you stop tilling.”

Ready your soil to go vertical
Here’s how to make sure your soil is ready to transition to a vertical system:

Review your current program. “If you regularly test soil and maintain balanced fertility levels, you might need only tweaks to your 4R program (right product, rate, time and placement) to enter a vertical system,” Ferrie says.

Test soil. “If you are in a conventional tillage system where fertilizer is routinely mixed through the soil profile, you need a regular 6" soil test,” Ferrie says. “Make sure the top 6" are in a good balanced condition.”

Already no-till? “If you acquire ground that has been no-tilled, but you aren’t sure if nutrients were balanced before going to no-till, test the soil at zero to 3" and 3" to 6" levels,” Ferrie says. “Expect stratification at the zero to 3" depth, especially with pH. If the 3" to 6" level is low in phosphorus and potassium, fixing that issue will weatherproof the field. Either till for a few years to mix fertility downward or use a strip-till bar that applies fertilizer, moving the strips each year until the problem is fixed.”

Your Biggest Challenge: Managing Acidity

“Whether you farm vertically or horizontally, pH is a bigger factor in soil health than any other input,” explains Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.
“If soil pH is balanced when you stop horizontal tillage and move into a vertical system, switch from applying lime every three or four years to smaller amounts every year or two,” he continues. “Lime will move downward about ½" per year, depending on the porosity of the soil. Some of our clients have maintained balanced pH through the top 6" of soil after 30 years in no-till.”

Here are some tips to maintain a healthy pH in your vertical system:

Adjust lime rates to the amount of tillage you will be doing. “If the recommendation is 3 tons per acre for a 6" slice of soil, but you only work it 3" deep, that’s like a 6-ton application in the top 3",” Ferrie says. “If you spread 3 tons of lime on the surface of a no-till field, that’s more like an 8-ton application. It will drive the surface pH to the upper-7 range, leading to nutrient tie-up, herbicide carryover and nitrogen volatility.”
Apply lime like paint — uniform applications that can be worked in or leached down by water. “You can’t strip lime like phosphorus or potassium,” Ferrie says. “Think of hydrogen ions like weed seeds, scattered in the soil, and apply lime uniformly like a herbicide.”
If soil is highly acidic, apply lime over time, mixing it through the profile with a ripper or chisel. Then return to your vertical system.
Since most acidity develops near the surface, where biological activity takes place and nutrients are applied, a proactive liming program lets you neutralize the acidity before it moves deeper into the soil. Maintain pH with frequent lime applications of 1,000 lb. to 2,500 lb. per acre, and test soil every year or two.
In corn/soybean rotations, apply lime in the fall on cornstalks, before going to soybeans. “This allows time for the lime to be carried into the soil before you make a surface application of nitrogen and run into volatility issues,” Ferrie says.
If you must apply nitrogen on the surface after a lime application, protect it with a nitrification inhibitor.

Want to read more from Ken Ferrie about vertical farming?

Now’s the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out

Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:41:59 GMT

Layers of dense or compacted soil will prevent vertical farming systems (no-till, strip-till and vertical tillage) from reaching their potential. That’s important in light of coming government incentives pushing you toward surface residue and cover crops.

So — you have probed or dug and found the layers put in place by horizontal farming tools. What’s next?

“Now it’s time to find the best way to remove them,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.

Here are some factors to consider:

1. Two goals: depth and shattering.

“If there are multiple layers from different horizontal tillage programs, such as moldboard plows, field cultivators and disks, focus on the deepest one,” Ferrie advises. “If you remove it, you’ll get rid of both.

“At the same time, we must get complete shattering of the top 4" to 6" of soil, across the width of our implement. That surface shattering creates a uniform environment for consistent seed depth, spacing and seed/soil contact. That’s the environment you get with horizontal secondary tillage tools, but their shearing action created the layer you’re now trying to remove. If your primary tool fails to shatter the surface, vertical harrowing can’t fix it because vertical harrows level from the surface, simply knocking peaks into valleys.”

Non-uniform shattering causes uneven crop growth, often showing up early in the season as streaking patterns at the angle you tilled.

“Areas between the shanks that aren’t shattered at the surface will be like no-till compared to the shattered areas,” Ferrie says. “Besides uneven growth, your operators will complain about the rough ride all season long. That rough surface will remain even after long-term no-till.”

2. Balance depth, spacing and horsepower.

Standard chisel plows might not work to remove deep layers. “To remove an 8" plow sole, it will need to run 10" or 12" deep,” Ferrie says. Better choices for 6" to 12" layers include in-line rippers, disk-rippers and what Ferrie calls hybrid chisels. Those chisels feature high clearance for deep tillage and residue flow, adjustable depth and gang angle for the front cutters, and multiple options and depth control for the leveling section on the rear.

But selecting the ideal tool is a balancing act. “As a rule of thumb, the depth you run needs to be half of the shank spacing, to get full-width shattering in the top 4" to 6" of soil,” Ferrie continues. “But the shanks also need to run about 2" to 3" deeper than the layer to remove as much of it as possible.

“So a hybrid chisel on 15" spacing must run 7½" deep for full shattering at the surface. That will work fine for layers that are 4” to 5” deep, but if the layer is 8" deep, and the shanks need to run 10" to 12" deep to remove as much of it as possible, a hybrid chisel will struggle to get deep enough.”

Avoid Recreational Tillage

Removing deep layers can take several years running the tool at different angles. “A disk ripper on 30" spacing with parabolic shanks also needs to go 12" deep to take out an 8" layer,” Ferrie says. “But you need 15" of depth to get full-width shattering at the surface. At that depth and spacing, growers often run out of horsepower and/or traction. If they shallow up and run the tool above the layer, they’re doing nothing but recreational tillage.

“Running shanks with wings will remove more of the layer,” Ferrie says. “But the wings must run below the layer. At that depth, growers often run out of traction and horsepower. Straight chisel points let you go deeper with the same amount of horsepower and traction, but the amount of layer they remove is reduced.”

Removing Layers with Strip-Till and Cover Crops

“A combination of strip-till and cover crops may help remove layers on highly erodible land where you are not allowed to till,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.

“Strip-tilling with a knife can break through shallow layers in the 4" range. Move the strips each year. Be careful if the field has much slope; rain can run across the soil surface into the strips, causing blowouts on steeper areas.”

Cover crops might be able to punch bio-channels through soil layers. “It depends how severe the layer is,” Ferrie says. “Often, covers cannot penetrate compact layers very well. I have found density layers after seven years of cover crops.”

Bio-channels from worms, night crawlers and roots will help maintain a vertical system, but they will develop much faster and deeper if you take the layers out before going vertical.

Residue Complicates Your Choices

If you wish to preserve surface residue to prevent erosion, or if your approved conservation plan requires it, that further complicates the task of layer removal. Some options include:

Some hybrid chisels designed for vertical systems can be set up with straight coulters in front, little or no changeable gang angle, cutters controlled separately from shank depth and with a leveling device on the rear — what some call a conservation chisel. “Running these tools through soybean stubble leaves some surface cover to protect soil in the spring,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Running them in corn stalks leaves enough residue that you can hardly tell anything was done.”

In-line rippers, properly operated, are excellent for taking out deep layers while preserving surface cover. “On 30" spacing, run your in-line ripper 15" deep,” Ferrie says. “Keep it level and keep going deeper until the soil lifts evenly across the implement, from shank to shank. The soil should roll through the ripper like a wave. If it is blowing out around the shanks and not being lifted in between, you need to go deeper.”
Ferrie recommends avoiding wings on ripper shanks. “They make the soil blow out more, covering the residue and leaving a rough surface,” he says. “They also increase horsepower and traction requirements, often causing operators to shallow up and not get full-width shattering of the surface layer.”
Keep ripper shanks in line, rather than offsetting some of them. Offsetting will force you to run deeper and require more horsepower.
In-line rippers are not the best choice for shallow layers. “Layers in the top 4" of soil will lift up and slide through the ripper like a sidewalk, settling back down into place,” Ferrie says. “If you run rippers too fast in these conditions, the surface will flip up like little gravestones. Ripping will help, but you’ll still have a layer, requiring several years to remove.”
If you have both deep and shallow layers, use an in-line ripper in soybean stubble, removing the deep layer and leaving maximum residue, Ferrie suggests. “Come back the next year with a chisel in corn stalks, taking out what’s left of the shallow layer when you have more residue to work with.”

Interested in learning more about how to convert to a vertical farming system? Ken Ferrie shares more here .

4 Stories to Learn More About a Vertical Tillage System

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:41:01 GMT

All signs point to incentives for farmers to reduce tillage and grow cover crops. Some farmers will factor these incentives into their profit/loss statements, which will be a game changer. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, there might even be situations where farmers will find they can net more profit by complying with government carbon incentives versus maximizing yield.

Vertical tillage is not a single tool or a single pass — it is a comprehensive system, says Ken Ferrie. Through the Farm Journal Test Plot program and Ferrie’s experience in hundreds of clients fields, the following stories will provide the foundation you need to understand a vertical tillage system and the important first step of removing horizontal layers.

1. Considering Vertical Tillage? Here Are 5 Benefits

The concept of vertical tillage is well-known, but what it entails isn’t fully understood in some corners of farm country. In simple terms, Ken Ferrie says a true vertical tillage system involves understanding the soil profile, addressing compaction issues, ensuring that each pass achieves the goal of the system, respecting residue cover and providing a well-prepared seedbed for the planter pass. Simply put, a vertical system means managing the entire soil profile for uniformity.

2. Now’s the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

For decades, moldboard plows, disks and field cultivators, all horizontal tillage tools, have been the go-tos for fieldwork. That’s changing as fears about climate change come into focus. There are various vertical tillage systems — conventional vertical tillage, one-pass-and-plant vertical tillage, no-till and strip-till. How do you decide which tillage system fits your operation and temperament?

3. Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out

Identifying horizontal layers is a crucial first step when converting to vertical tillage. There is lots of Farm Journal Test Plot data to explain why it’s so important. Reduced tillage and covers require a vertical system, from which compacted soil layers and sudden density changes have been removed. On-farm tests confirm removing compaction and density layers before transitioning to a vertical system can add 15 bu. to 20 bu. per acre and might lower cost of production.

4. Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

So — you have probed or dug and found the layers put in place by horizontal farming tools. What’s next? “Now it’s time to find the best way to remove them,” says Ken Ferrie. Focus on depth, shatter, spacing and horsepower — and avoid recreational tillage at all costs. A combination of strip-till and cover crops might help remove layers on highly erodible land where you are not allowed to till.

Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 23:36:16 GMT

Government incentives, spurred by climate change fears, will likely nudge you toward reduced tillage programs and cover crops in the near future. On-farm tests conducted by Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie, and his experience in hundreds of clients’ fields, show reduced tillage and covers require a vertical system, from which compacted soil layers and sudden density changes have been removed. Most soil layers and density changes are created by horizontal tillage, such as moldboard plows, disks, field cultivators and soil finishers.

For example, one of Ferrie’s plots shows how a subsurface layer can reduce yield. A compacted layer was created by running a field cultivator in wet conditions in the spring after chisel plowing the previous fall. (The last pass before vertical tillage must be vertical, Ferrie emphasizes, to avoid putting in a density layer.)

The graphs above show the yields from one horizontal and three vertical tillage treatments in two soil types. Fall chiseling followed by a vertical harrow in the spring produced the highest yield, followed by no-till; in-line ripping/vertical harrowing; and, finally, a soil finisher. Except for no-till, the vertical systems improved or removed the density layer, while the soil finisher left it in place.

“All the treatments were profitable,” Ferrie says. “But the greatest difference between vertical and horizontal tillage was 17 bu. per acre on silty clay loam and 37 bu. per acre in silt loam.

“This test confirmed results we have seen in other studies and on many clients’ farms. Removing compaction and density layers before transitioning to a vertical system can add 15 bu. to 20 bu. per acre and might lower cost of production,” he adds.

Before moving toward a vertical system (usually a three-year process), you first must determine whether layers are present. Ferrie’s preferred method is to dig up corn roots during the growing season.

“Paying attention to resistance as you dig, seeing how roots penetrate and examining soil moisture levels will show you whether layers exist,” he explains. “Knowing the depth and seriousness of layers will help you decide what tool or tools you need to transition to a vertical system.”

The Subsurface Layer Steals Bushels

Think 230 bu. per acre is a good corn yield? Wouldn’t you rather have 267 bu.? This side-by-side plot, in a field with a subsurface layer, compared three vertical systems (no-till, in-line ripping in the fall followed by vertical harrowing in the spring and fall chiseling followed by spring vertical harrowing) to horizontal tillage consisting of one pass with a soil finisher in the spring. The field contained two soil types, silty clay loam and light silt loam. Each vertical system outyielded the horizontal tillage.

“All these systems would have been profitable for the operator,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist. “But the vertical tillage programs yielded up to 37 more bushels per acre (in the silt loam soil) because they removed the layer put in by previous horizontal tillage. These results are similar to what we’ve seen on many clients’ farms.”

How to Find Density Layers

Do you have soil compaction and density changes that impede roots and water? Here’s how to find out:

One sure clue. If your last tillage pass was horizontal (moldboard plow, disk, field cultivator or soil finisher), you have soil layers. “Even if a farm has been no-tilled for 10 years, if the last pass before vertical tillage was a soil finisher, we will find that layer,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Freezing and thawing does much to change density, but it doesn’t take out layers.”
Tools you can use. The list includes GPS-equipped penetrometers, which store your results on the cloud, hand-held penetrometers, tile probes and, Ferrie’s favorite, a tile spade to dig up plants in the middle of the growing season.
Dig deep enough to find old plow soles. You’ll probably feel density changes as you push the spade into the soil.
Dig up one plant. If two or three come up at once, you’re under a layer and the plants are sitting on top.
Read the roots. A corn plant’s roots should grow at a 30˚ angle from the crown, in a circular pattern. “If bulk density changes suddenly, roots don’t have time to taper, so they run sideways on top of the layer,” Ferrie says.
The first three sets of crown roots are a key indicator. The first two sets, being the smallest, will turn on any layer. “If the third set runs horizontal, that’s a compaction layer,” Ferrie says. “If it just wiggles a little and then grows through it, it’s a density change.” Those three sets of roots are the most important for yield; sets four and five are for standability.
Study the soil. If it separates on horizontal horizons, rather than crumbling, as you dig, those are soil layers. See if roots are turning and growing sideways.
Sudden changes in soil moisture indicate horizontal layers. “As roots turn on layers, so does water movement,” Ferrie says. “If the top 4" is moist from a recent rain, and it’s dry below that, the rain came faster than it could penetrate a layer.” When subsurface layers prevent water from wicking to the surface, the surface soil can collapse into a massive, concrete-like state.

Want to learn more about how to convert to a vertical tillage system? Start here.

Here's How to Set Up Your Fall Tillage Tools for Success

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 22:55:48 GMT

Fall will be here before you know it, which means it’s time to start thinking about tillage. Ken Ferrie shares two videos explaining how to successfully set and operate your hybrid chisel and inline ripper.

Hybrid Chisel

“The primary pass in the fall has to be done right for vertical till to be successful,” says Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. “For you guys who are doing primary tillage in the fall and following it with horizontal tillage in the spring, it’s not quite as crucial. You’re going to take care of those issues if you don’t get full-width shatter with your disk or soil finisher in the spring.”

When Ferrie mentions full shatter, he’s referring to the top 4” to 6” of the soil. “Typically, this is going to be a function of depth and shank width,” he says. “A good rule of thumb is half your shank width is the depth the tool is going to have to be pulled at.”

One of the challenges growers run into, for instance, with a 510 disk ripper on 30-inch centers, is the depth requirement to get full shatter for those tools is almost out of their horsepower range.

“The situation with those tools is that they are designed for conventional tillage where you can come back and take out the untilled part with your finishers with your disk in the spring. As we look at vertical tillage, we typically look at shanks that are closer together. Today the hybrid chisels are looking at 16-inch spacings on the shank, letting us go 8” or 9” deep, shallowing up some so on we can pull it and get full shatter, but we still have to have residue flow. So it’s a design issue there as far as depth of the frame and length and to get 200-plus bushel residue through the machine itself.”

In the following Setting Your Hybrid Chisel video, Ferrie and his agronomic team at Crop-Tech Consulting demonstrate two different vertical tillage tools. Both are what Ferrie calls hybrid chisels, but their designs are different.

One of the tools is set up to bury residue. “As we think about what we want to do, we’ve got to have full shatter no matter what we’re doing. Then the question is, how much residue do we want to bury or put in the ground itself,” he says.

The second tool has straight cutters on the front. “And those straight cutters are designed just to size residue, so it’ll flow through the machine and stay on top. That would be something that we’d run in the bean stubble, for instance, and want for residue cover,” Ferrie explains.

Who would buy these tools, what would make a difference? “Well, definitely when we’re talking about the straight cutters, leaving lots of residue on top, that’s a tool that’s really loved by the growers that are doing no-till,” he says.

“If I’m a no-tiller, and I like my residue on top, I like my ground protected, I can use this tool to fix ruts in the field from sprayers or other problems,” Ferrie adds. “Definitely we can use them to fix pH problems if we’re incorporating limestone, so we can get the tillage and we can get some mixing action down below but still have some residue for cover on top. So we can get back into a no till program as fast as we can and keep that bean stubble from blowing away on us in the spring.”

Now the second tool that buries residue, again, that’s the kind of tool that corn-on corn growers like.

“They like to tuck and bury some of that residue in so it can decompose and get out away. So they don’t have to deal with it in their corn-on-corn program. It’s also one of the ways that we manage disease. In disease problem fields, we can bury some of that residue and move that residue along faster to get rid of it. It really comes down to which tool you’re going to buy and how much residue you want left on top,” Ferrie says.

Inline Ripper
In the second video, Ferrie and team want to make sure that as inline rippers start rolling that they’re used successfully for the job intended.

“The first thing we have to consider when we take an inline ripper to the field is to make sure that we have reason to be out there,” Ferrie says. “This is a situation where today in the YouTube video, we’re going to be in corn stalks. And most of you know that our data says it’s kind of hard to make tillage pay for itself ahead of soybeans.”

In this particular field, though, Ferrie and team are fixing a couple of problems.

“We’ve got a substantial amount of density layers and to the point where they’re stopping roots,” Ferrie says. “We’ve identified this and we do need to take those layers out. We also had some traffic in this field due to pipeline and pipeline traffic. We’re going to try to reset this field so we can put it on its way back to uniform density.”

Watch the How to Set An Inline Ripper video.

Once again, Ferrie says complete shatter must be achieved. “We need a uniform seedbed, we need a uniform shatter to get that done. And if we’re going to level with our harrows remember harrows level from the top, not from below. So that’s going to be part of why this is different for you guys in vertical tillage compared to you guys that are in a horizontal tillage program.”

Now's the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:45:53 GMT

For decades, moldboard plows, disks and field cultivators, all horizontal tillage tools, have been the go-tos for fieldwork. That’s changing as fears about climate change come into focus.

Sooner or later, you’re going to be pushed (or led, depending on your perspective) toward vertical systems by government incentives.

“The world is asking farmers to fight climate change by reducing tillage and planting cover crops,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.

“Governments want you to adopt vertical systems to disturb the ground as little as possible and keep it covered year-round — essentially what existed when our cropland was covered by native prairie. I expect climate-smart initiatives will include financial incentives for reduced tillage and cover crops. That will create opportunities for farmers in vertical systems. However, soil layers left by horizontal, full-width tillage systems could cause those vertical systems to fail.”

No one argues horizontal farming doesn’t have advantages.

“Horizontal spring tillage lets us plant into warmer soil with more uniform moisture,” Ferrie says. “That gets plants off to a faster start. Weed control is cheaper, and fewer specialized attachments are required on planters. But unfortunately, horizontal tillage doesn’t match up with the climate incentives I see coming down the pike.”

Vertical farming can be profitable, but it’s harder to manage.

“Among our consulting clients, vertical systems — no-till, strip-till and others — produce the highest return on investment,” Ferrie says. “On the other hand, they also produce the lowest. It depends on whether growers understand and know how to manage their vertical systems.”

What is Vertical Farming?

“Merely no-tilling or using a vertical harrow or similar vertical tool does not mean you’re in a vertical system,” Ferrie says. “A vertical system exists only after all horizontal layers, usually caused by horizontal tillage, are removed, and the soil is managed so as to not put them back in.

“A vertical system lets roots grow downward without restriction,” he adds. “The soil’s bulk density changes gradually, versus suddenly, so roots can adjust and penetrate, rather than flattening out along the top of a layer. Likewise, without sudden density changes, water will move downward and be stored in pore spaces. It will wick back up as water evaporates from the surface of the soil or through plant leaves.”

Horizontal Versus Vertical

“Pretend you have a huge vacuum that sucks up all the loose soil following a tillage pass,” Ferrie says. “After horizontal tillage, you would find a flat horizontal plane. Vertical tillage leaves a rougher sawtooth effect.”

Tools for Vertical Farming

Vertical tools include disk rippers, in-line rippers, chisel plows, field cultivators with spikes instead of sweeps, strip-till bars, row warmers, vertical harrows and no-till planters.

“Most farmers mix and match tools for primary and secondary tillage,” Ferrie says. “In horizontal systems, they might use a vertical tillage tool, such as a disk-ripper, in the fall for primary tillage and follow with a disk or field cultivator when spring rolls around. Or they might make one pass in the spring on soybean stubble with a soil finisher or high-speed disk. But all these secondary tools leave a horizontal tillage layer, a sudden density change that roots might have trouble coping with.”

For vertical farmers, typical programs include:

Chisel plowing in the fall and one or two passes of a vertical harrow in the spring.
Vertical harrowing in the fall, leaving a sterile seedbed for planting in the spring.
Vertical harrowing in the fall, followed by one pass with a vertical harrow in the spring to warm and dry soil for planting.

Conventional vertical tillage is fall primary tillage with a chisel, disk-ripper or in-line ripper (shattering soil across the width of the implement) and leveling in the spring using a vertical tool with no gang angle. “The leveling pass is like screeding concrete — knocking peaks off into the valleys, rather than using a sweep to level soil from below,” Ferrie says.

No-till or strip-till after all the old soil layers have been removed.

Most farmers need to implement multiple practices.

“In some fields, no-till might work great on 70% of the acres, but the other 30%, with drainage or soil-type issues, need to be strip-tilled,” Ferrie says. “So the whole field will work better in a strip-till format. Sometimes a more aggressive fall program is required to manage continuous corn residue, wheel track issues, manure application or new fields that need compaction removed or fertilizer mixed in.”

Golden Rules of Vertical Systems

When consulting clients consider transitioning from a horizontal to a vertical farming system. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie offers four rules he considers essential:

The shallower a horizontal soil density layer, the more it costs in terms of yield and profit. “A 2"-deep layer causes more problems than an 8" plow sole,” Ferrie says.
The last tillage pass before transitioning to a vertical system must not be horizontal (because it will leave a density layer that will last for years).
Keep the seedbed sacred. “Ear count is always of utmost importance,” Ferrie says. “That requires a perfect seedbed, and creating one takes more management in vertical systems. If you’re not ready to put forth the time and management to achieve a uniform stand in a vertical system, it’s better to remain in a horizontal system.”
Allow three years to transition to a vertical system. “It will take that long to acquire management skills and equipment and prepare your soil for a vertical system,” Ferrie says.