The Farmer's Daughter USA

Hi, I'm Amanda! My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm also a practicing attorney.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Work with Me
    • Speaking
    • Giveaways
    • Social Media Consulting
    • Sponsored and Guest Posts
  • About Me
    • Media
    • Terms of Use

The Choices for Tillage

May 12, 2017

I previously wrote about no-till systems to prepare the soil for planting. No-till certainly has a lot of benefits and has become much more possible for farmers with the introduction of herbicide-resistant crops. However, I also mentioned that there are still reasons farmers employ other methods of tillage.

Here, I’ll describe those other methods, the reasons farmers might choose them, some other relevant factors, and what we do on our own farm.

Conventional Tillage

Traditional  tillage is what most people think about when it comes to preparing fields for planting. With conventional tillage, fields are usually plowed in the fall to bury the crop residue, finished (read: to level and freshen up the seedbed) in the spring, and then planted. The benefit here is that the seedbed is clean, the root profile is reset, and (possibly) warmer soil temperatures.

Conservation Tillage

Conservation tillage is somewhat of a subset of conventional tillage. Instead of plowing a field in the fall, we wait until right before planting to plow the field and then finish it. In addition to the benefits of conventional tillage, conservation tillage helps reduce erosion and runoff. By leaving the previous year’s crop residue in the field over the winter, the soil is covered until just before planting. We then plow or disk, finish, and plant in relatively quick order, hopefully within days depending on weather. The goal is to reduce the time between when the crop residue protecting the field and when the new crop emerges.

Vertical Tillage

Vertical tillage is a form of minimal tillage that is used to reduce the size of crop residue and cover the residue with some soil. Depending on the implement, it may also reduce soil compaction. The benefits here are closer to no-till, but also potentially makes it easier to plant with reducing the size of the residue.

Strip Till

Strip tillage is another form of minimum tillage. Only the strip of soil where the seed will be planted is disturbed. The majority of the field and crop residue is undisturbed. This method combines the benefits of conventional tillage and no-till. Strip till has become more accessible for farmers with the advent of auto-steer and GPS, because it ensures the seed is planted right into the tilled strip.

Other Factors Determining Tillage Methods

As you can imagine, farmers have a lot to consider when it comes to choosing the best tillage method for their farms. Many likely use a combination of different methods, as do we. However sometimes the tillage method is decided on other factors. While the list is probably endless, here are at least a few factors that we encounter.

  • Landlord Preference. Like most farmers, we don’t own all of the land we farm and have to rely on renting farmland from surrounding landowners. While most landlords defer to us for determining tillage methods, others have preferences. For example, some landlords like the look of a clean seedbed and ask that we do not employ no-till practices. Others may be adherents to the no-till model and request that we use it. We always try to honor those preferences.
  • Fix Rutted Fields. Another reality we face is that the weather may force our hand. Our harvest season might be cut short with early snowfall. Our planting season might be particularly wet and mucky. Equipment can get stuck. When that happens, the field can get ruts and become incredibly uneven. Therefore, sometimes we have to do something more akin to conventional tillage to fix the fields and make them smooth again, which allows our equipment to work at its best.
  • Residue Breakdown. As described above, some forms of tillage are used to breakdown the size of residue and help it decompose. If the crop residue left in the field is particularly large for whatever reason, we may choose a different type of tillage to make it easier on the planter.
  • Continuous Corn. We normally rotate our fields between corn and soybeans. Unfortunately, there are some circumstances that dictate we only plant corn. For example, one of our landlords grows ornamental plants and has to be very careful about the presence of certain soybean pests. In other cases, the field conditions are just not conducive to soybean harvest. In those cases, we use conventional or conservation tillage because it helps reset the root profile and clean up the fields with the prior year’s corn residue.

On Our Farm

For the most part, we have adopted conservation tillage because it provides a nice seed bed for planting and helps protect against erosion and runoff over the winter. As I mentioned before, we also use no-till on many of our acres. But sometimes we take advantage of vertical tillage as well. Of course, we have also run into those other factors that can sometimes dictate the method of tillage used on the farm. The key here is that we are usually making decisions based on what is best for our farm and what makes the most sense for us, which includes employing a number of tillage systems.

A cautionary message here: this is meant to be an introduction to different tillage methods. In reality, this stuff gets super complicated and there are a ton of variables to consider. I already know this article does not cover everything and we could, quite literally, write several volumes of books about it.

signature
Share this:
«
»

Filed Under: Conventional, Production Methods Tagged With: environment, sustainability, tillage

Hi, I'm Amanda. My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm an attorney and I'm passionate about agriculture!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe via Email

Archives

Latest on Facebook

The Farmer's Daughter

4 weeks ago

The Farmer's Daughter

You can't and won't make America healthy by blaming and hindering our family farmers.

... See MoreSee Less

MAHA Report delivers scathing assessment of farm pesticides | AGDAILY

www.agdaily.com

The new MAHA report, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., links pesticides to rising childhood illness, already drawing criticism from farm groups.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

1 month ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Do you a plan for your estate? My latest for AGDAILY focuses on potential changes to the federal estate tax.

... See MoreSee Less

Perspective: A farmer's legacy shouldn't be a tax nightmare for their kin

www.agdaily.com

For farm families, estate taxes aren’t just an abstract policy debate -- they’re a very real threat to generational farms and the livelihoods they support.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

1 month ago

The Farmer's Daughter

If nothing else, this should keep you up at night. Every snake oil salesman is now in charge of HHS.

... See MoreSee Less

How RFK Jr. Is Boosting ‘Food Babe’ and Other MAHA Acolytes

www.wsj.com

The health and human services secretary has elevated lightly regulated wellness companies and allowed advisers to keep investments, after vowing to end conflicts of interest.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

2 months ago

The Farmer's Daughter

These concepts aren't mutually exclusive.

... See MoreSee Less


Photo

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

2 months ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Imagine getting to donate a substantial amount of money to a charity of *your* choice and you choose....an animal rights activist group with questionable intentions??

... See MoreSee Less

Why agricultural advocates are lashing out at Celebrity Jeopardy! | AGDAILY

www.agdaily.com

David Friedberg, founder of The Climate Corporation, is drawing ire for his "charity" of choice on Celebrity Jeopardy!: Humane World for Animals.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

Latest on Instagram

Amanda Zaluckyj

thefarmersdaughterusa

Amanda | The Farmer's Daughter USA
I'm a proud farmer's daughter & advocate for modern agriculture. U.S. farmers are leaders in sustainability.

Perusing my photos from #Denmark and getting the i Perusing my photos from #Denmark and getting the itch to travel again.
These concepts aren't mutually exclusive. #farms # These concepts aren't mutually exclusive. #farms #farmfamily #environment #soilhealth #nutritiousfood
Stop worrying about labels and just eat them! Stop worrying about labels and just eat them!
Corn is a powerhouse! #corn #farming #growcorn # Corn is a powerhouse! 

#corn #farming #growcorn #USAGrown #usagriculture
Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀
The blood moon. 🌙 And proof I woke up at 2:15 a The blood moon. 🌙 And proof I woke up at 2:15 am to see it!
3 years. 💔 #slavaukraini #supporukraine #ukrai 3 years. 💔

#slavaukraini #supporukraine #ukraine #glorytoukraine🇺🇦
Mischa will not suffer a snowman in her yard. ❄️☃️

#dogslife #dogsofinstagram #blacklab #pittiemix #snowday #snowman
We all know RFK, Jr. is well known for vaccine dis We all know RFK, Jr. is well known for vaccine disinformation. But he's also a danger to agriculture, even promising to "weaponize" regulatory agencies against our farm families.

#rfk #farmersdaughter #farmers #conspiracytheories #puremichiganfarm #rfkjr
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs