The ultimate goal of tillage is to create a perfect seedbed for spring planting. In order to do this, you must manage crop residue effectively. Iowa farmer Jeremy Swanson uses a biological product and soil penetrant to help break down his residue and condition his soil for ideal planting conditions.

Enlisting the Help of Biology

When you’re planting your crop, you want good seed-to-soil contact, so we need to manage our tillage with this end goal in mind. We’ve learned over the years that if we do tillage in the fall to size and bury some of that residue, as much of it as we can, we’re left with black dirt that’s good for planting and achieving that optimum seed-to-soil contact.

I use a couple of products to help with that process. I’ll start with the biologicals because I’ve used them the longest—I believe I’m on my fourth season of using biologicals to help with the residue digestion. I’m using BioChop by Physagro. One thing I was starting to notice when I switched to strip till is that I was having corn stalk residue carrying over for a couple of years. Since I’ve started using the biologicals, this has improved. There maybe isn’t always a huge visual clue, but when I’m planting soybeans in the corn stalks (no till), there are times when my basic little trash whippers can move enough of it that it almost makes a strip. 

But you’ve got to have the right conditions to get that far into it. You only get that much breakdown if you can get the product on early and the weather cooperates. 

Other Farmers See Similar Results

I have agronomy customers using the biologicals as well. In talking with them, they tell me that their rippers pull easier through the field. No one has really come to a consensus as to why that is or what phenomenon is responsible for what they’re seeing. The only thing I’ve been able to come up with is that the biology is breaking down more of the residue and that translates all the way down to the roots. 

Roots have dirt packed around them, and as that root shaft starts to shrink because it’s degrading, pockets of air are created in the soil and the soil loosens up a bit. As they’re pulling their rippers through the fields, the soil is actually looser and breaks up easier. I think the other factor here is that the biomass both above and below the ground is more completely broken down. You don’t have thousands and thousands of big chunks to work through; they’re broken down and softened up. 

From the FCLG: Experts across the industry agree that conservation tillers need a comprehensive residue management plan. While strip- and no-till implements are designed to operate in heavy residue, it still pays to take a proactive approach to residue management. Common tips include using a chopping corn head and a spreader on the back of the combine that can distribute residue evenly behind the machine. Some strip tillers even use a two-pass system; one pass in the fall to make the initial strips and then another spring pass to re-clear the strips of any residue that has blown over the top during the winter months. 

Restructuring the Soil

More recently, I’ve added a soil penetrant to my agronomy plan. The product I use is Agri-SC Soil Conditioner by Four Star Services. I think it’s been around for about fifty years. Now, I come across a lot of different products in my agronomy consulting business and this one, well, sounds like the snake oil of all snake oils. I’ve even told this directly to the company’s owners. However, this is a case of me not completely understanding how the product functions. After using it, I can definitely say that it works. 

Basically, it breaks the bond between the soil and the water in the soil. This allows the water to move down through the soil profile faster. Sometimes you have tight, heavy, compacted soil caused by moisture. Agri-SC in effect opens the soil up so the water will move through it. Oxygen will then backfill the space created by the departing water. And then, the aerobic soil biology can go to work, whether that’s processing residue or converting nutrients for plant use. 

The first year I used Agri-SC, I also had a few customers go out and spot spray it on their fields over areas where water typically stands. These guys had gone out to check fields after a heavy rain, and I called them to ask if they had seen any differences in their fields. They all told me that there wasn’t as much water sitting in the areas they had sprayed as there should be, judging by the amount of water standing in their neighbors’ fields. I realize that doesn't sound real scientific, but those are valid observations none the less. 

More Stories of Soil Transformation

I have another story from last summer on my own farm. I used to grow peas, and for anyone who is familiar with that, you’ll know what pea picking can do to your soil. Rain or shine they pick your field. With my soil structure, they don’t create the massive ruts you typically see in fields when they pick, but the pickers do pack the living heck out of the soil. 

Well, last summer the company picked my peas during a random rain shower on a Saturday afternoon. The next day the weather turned scorching hot. I went out to the field on Monday night and that ground was the consistency of concrete. Dad had a hard time sticking a phillips-head screwdriver into the ground. Tuesday I took the planter out to the field as we were double cropping it with soybeans. I couldn’t get the planter in the ground either; the beans were laying on top of the soil. We were thinking, what are we going to do here? 

I had my brother go out the next Saturday morning and spray the soil penetrant on at a little higher than label rate, but left a few check strips. He also went back and double sprayed one strip. That night we received a two-inch rain. This happened to be a farm that has timber surrounding it on three of the four sides on the back corner, which is crappy ground to boot. It hardly ever dries out back there. Even up by the road there’s typically a pond in the field, which is one of the last spots to dry up. 

Anyway, I could go out and plant Monday night. That’s just forty-eight hours after a two-inch rain event. Not only could I plant, but the soil was now so soft and mellow on the top that I had no problem planting beans at the exact depth I wanted. Now, I won’t discredit the rain event—rain will soften the ground up—but I have no doubt that the penetrant was responsible for reconditioning the ground. 

Soil Synergy

I believe we’re seeing some synergistic effects when we apply the penetrant with the biological product in the fall. I think it’s helping to increase the functions of the biological product in the soil. We know there’s a little bit of humic in the penetrant, which would be a food source for the biology. My other thought is that during the dry falls we’ve had, the penetrant is helping to unlock or free up the little bit of moisture that’s still held in the soil or plants, which then makes it available for the biology as well. That’s critical in a dry year to keep the biology working in the soil. 

So yes, there are products out there to help with residue management if you find that to be a concern with transitioning to conservation tillage. As one of the main reasons we do tillage, you have to manage your residue well in order to make a good seedbed to plant into. We want to give our crops the best start possible, and ensuring great planting conditions is one way to lay a foundation for profitability on your farm.