Fall tillage?

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

To all my farmer friends on the site, I'm an Iowa native and have hunted, fished, recreated, and lived in rural Iowa my entire life. I have a legitimate question, and I hope to get some thoughtful answers that don't include variations of, "...that's the way it's always been, etc..."

Question:
How is fall tillage a legitimate part of sustainable agricultural practices? Opening up the ground to freeze/thaw cycles and every form of erosion, filling the ditches (and eventually creeks, streams, rivers) with dirt, nutrient, and pesticide runoff every season does not scream "sustainable" to me.

Please help me understand why this is still so common in 2025.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

Tillage incorporates oxygen inyo the soil. Ramping up the nutrient cycle and breaking down residues faster. Creating a boon of nutrients the next growing cycle.

Also some claim that the soil warms faster in the spring. Allowing the producer to get his crops in sooner. Creating a longer growing season, and the ability to grow longer day corn varieties which often carry a higher yield potential.

But there are massive downsides. Many of which you already stated.

One can view it as robbing Peter to pay Pal. Because burning off organic matter lowers the resislancy of the soil and robs the soils of nutrients.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

One can view it as robbing Peter to pay Pal. Because burning off organic matter lowers the resislancy of the soil and robs the soils of nutrients.

And once the organic matter is gone, it's gone. There's no amount of manure that can be hauled onto fields to replace it.

 

[Btaylor]

To all my farmer friends on the site, I'm an Iowa native and have hunted, fished, recreated, and lived in rural Iowa my entire life. I have a legitimate question, and I hope to get some thoughtful answers that don't include variations of, "...that's the way it's always been, etc..."

Question:
How is fall tillage a legitimate part of sustainable agricultural practices? Opening up the ground to freeze/thaw cycles and every form of erosion, filling the ditches (and eventually creeks, streams, rivers) with dirt, nutrient, and pesticide runoff every season does not scream "sustainable" to me.

Please help me understand why this is still so common in 2025.

Because regenerative farming didnt start gaining any sort of foothold or even discussion until corporate farming had replaced family farming. It takes a good bit of time to make the conversion and really see what alternative practices can do and corporate farming is about today not tomorrow. Look up Gabe Brown(several youtube videos) if you want to see what can be done vs what is commonly done today.

Soil health is about keeping the soil covered and creating an environment for strong soil life or biology. To maximize that the farmer either also needs to ranch or have a working relationship with a local livestock/poultry producer. That is giant hurdle for the farmer that has only grown beans and corn or rice their whole life.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

^ jjohnson. Although partially true.

The soils ability to rebound is fairly remarkable. And some trials out of Australia show that by bringing back perennials with prescribed grazing.

In as little as 5 years the OM can return to decent levels.

Bringing in materials is not a wide scale pragmatic long term solution.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

To all my farmer friends on the site, I'm an Iowa native and have hunted, fished, recreated, and lived in rural Iowa my entire life. I have a legitimate question, and I hope to get some thoughtful answers that don't include variations of, "...that's the way it's always been, etc..."

Question:
How is fall tillage a legitimate part of sustainable agricultural practices? Opening up the ground to freeze/thaw cycles and every form of erosion, filling the ditches (and eventually creeks, streams, rivers) with dirt, nutrient, and pesticide runoff every season does not scream "sustainable" to me.

Please help me understand why this is still so common in 2025.

The amount and kind of tillage you use depends largely on soil type. For example, soils high in organic matter and clay content hold more moisture, making it difficult to use a no-till system, especially on flat, old lakebed soils with poor internal drainage. Getting fields to dry out in the spring for timely planting can be very difficult in these situations without doing some sort of fall tillage to break up the hardpan. On the other hand, older, weathered soils in areas with warmer, open winters, such as the southern U.S. or southeastern Corn Belt, are much better suited for more minimal tillage options. The more tillage that’s done, the more moisture is evaporated from the soil. So, if you’re in the western Corn Belt where moisture is at a premium, doing the least amount of tillage possible is usually advantageous to conserve moisture.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

The soils ability to rebound is fairly remarkable. And some trials out of Australia show that by bringing back perennials with prescribed grazing.

In as little as 5 years the OM can return to decent levels.

This is great news, and I see some guys planting cover crops and that just makes good common sense.

The problem (as I see it) in Iowa and other heavy ethanol producing states, is creating enough incentive to change the corn/bean rotation. Hell, there are barely any fencerows left in this area and more getting ripped out every year. There are very few farmers putting in fence and even running cows on stalks anymore. I'd be hard pressed to see guys actually taking row crop out of production to graze for any significant period of time.

The context of my question is just watching the owner's tenant disc/chisel the entire section around my place and watching the dirt blow away.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

The context of my question is just watching the owner's tenant disc/chisel the entire section around my place and watching the dirt blow away.

Sadly not an isolated incident.

A lady was killed a car accident in SD a couple years ago when the wind picked up and starting blowing topsoil around. Had to shut down a major road for quite some time and wait for the winds to die down. Straight out of the dustbowl type stuff.

Not uncommon to still find a couple inches of soil in the ditches when the snow melts in the spring.

Some places it's bad enough they have to bring in payloaders and bobcats to clean them out.

What's the saying. Those who choose to ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Absolutely not, and I've seen it my entire life. The moldboard plows are pretty much sunsetted other than in north central in some places that don't drain well. However, the disc chisels pulverize the dirt very efficiently most other places.

There is very little to stop the wind in this part of Iowa. With no fencerows inside the sections or along the road, there is only what crop residue is left (very little with the newest combines). There isn't any residue after fall tillage, and it gets worse the further north you go.

And people wonder why our rivers and lakes look like chocolate milk that the grinch took a dump in....

Modern farming is highly complex and complicated, and I wouldn't want to take their place. Just seems like long term sustainability isn't a high priority in this area at least.

 

[Btaylor]

Absolutely not, and I've seen it my entire life. The moldboard plows are pretty much sunsetted other than in north central in some places that don't drain well. However, the disc chisels pulverize the dirt very efficiently most other places.

There is very little to stop the wind in this part of Iowa. With no fencerows inside the sections or along the road, there is only what crop residue is left (very little with the newest combines). There isn't any residue after fall tillage, and it gets worse the further north you go.

And people wonder why our rivers and lakes look like chocolate milk that the grinch took a dump in....

Modern farming is highly complex and complicated, and I wouldn't want to take their place. Just seems like long term sustainability isn't a high priority in this area at least.

Here's a link to Gabe's website. I think its worth the few minutes to read through the sections on the learn tab.

Soil Health – Brown's Ranch

brownsranch.us

 

[gbflyer]

I stopped farming in 1995. Out west, irrigated not Iowa. Mostly veg crops and some feed. We spent generations watching diesel go into the air, all the while increasing compaction. Because grandpa did it that way. My dad and I were using minimum tillage the last 3 years. We used specialized equipment built for ground utilizing subsurface drip. Our tractors got smaller, we made many less trips over the ground, and we saw an increase in production. I go back there from time to time, looks like their Grandpas are still at it, but with much larger tractors. Lol. Those guys just like to drive tractors I think.


Here’s how we did it. All the weight stayed in the same place, never on the seed bed:

 

[Amos Keeto]

This is great news, and I see some guys planting cover crops and that just makes good common sense.

The problem (as I see it) in Iowa and other heavy ethanol producing states, is creating enough incentive to change the corn/bean rotation. Hell, there are barely any fencerows left in this area and more getting ripped out every year. There are very few farmers putting in fence and even running cows on stalks anymore. I'd be hard pressed to see guys actually taking row crop out of production to graze for any significant period of time.

The context of my question is just watching the owner's tenant disc/chisel the entire section around my place and watching the dirt blow away.

When the Gov't started buying corn for ethanol production, thousands and thousands of acres of tillable land was pulled out of CRP to grow corn. CRP land has generally been open to hunters with permission from the land owner.

My neighbor "farms". Fuel, fertilizer, seed and equipment prices have literally gone through the roof!
Unless you have pockets full of money or you happen to be lucky enough to have inherited property and equipment, you're pretty much S-O-L!
The days of the small family farm is gone.

We have "farmers markets" around where small growers can sell excess produce, but it can be expensive to participate! You do better sitting under a shade tree on the side of the road.
One market I went to charged no "spot" fee for produce.
Another charged $25/mo. Sounded good until I realized I sold $38 worth of produce and only got a $6 check!

Several farmers in our areas leave "riparian" strips in their fields to give wildlife, especially birds, a place to rest and nest!

Cover crops are almost non-existent due to fuel and seed prices.
A fifty pound sack of alfalfa seed is in the $300 range! ....and alfalfa won't grow just anywhere! It is "soil persnickety"?
Even clover seed is expensive. Vetch used to be popular as a cover crop. THAT seed is almost as expensive as alfalfa!
Plus fertilizer at $2000/ton!
Doesn't take long to see the folly in planting a 100 acre cover crops!
Most folks around here plant wheat or rye (the grain, not the grass!) and graze it for winter pasture for market calves.

 

[Wheels]

Long story short, it’s done so that they have one fewer passes in the spring prior to planting. Spring is typically wetter and they are time crunched to get seed in the ground.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

Absolutely not, and I've seen it my entire life. The moldboard plows are pretty much sunsetted other than in north central in some places that don't drain well. However, the disc chisels pulverize the dirt very efficiently most other places.

There is very little to stop the wind in this part of Iowa. With no fencerows inside the sections or along the road, there is only what crop residue is left (very little with the newest combines). There isn't any residue after fall tillage, and it gets worse the further north you go.

And people wonder why our rivers and lakes look like chocolate milk that the grinch took a dump in....

Modern farming is highly complex and complicated, and I wouldn't want to take their place. Just seems like long term sustainability isn't a high priority in this area at least.

A farmer friend took this pic in my home county the same year the accident occurred. Sad sight, but all to common. Ditch is about plum full.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

When the Gov't started buying corn for ethanol production, thousands and thousands of acres of tillable land was pulled out of CRP to grow corn. CRP land has generally been open to hunters with permission from the land owner.

My neighbor "farms". Fuel, fertilizer, seed and equipment prices have literally gone through the roof!
Unless you have pockets full of money or you happen to be lucky enough to have inherited property and equipment, you're pretty much S-O-L!
The days of the small family farm is gone.

We have "farmers markets" around where small growers can sell excess produce, but it can be expensive to participate! You do better sitting under a shade tree on the side of the road.
One market I went to charged no "spot" fee for produce.
Another charged $25/mo. Sounded good until I realized I sold $38 worth of produce and only got a $6 check!

Several farmers in our areas leave "riparian" strips in their fields to give wildlife, especially birds, a place to rest and nest!

Cover crops are almost non-existent due to fuel and seed prices.
A fifty pound sack of alfalfa seed is in the $300 range! ....and alfalfa won't grow just anywhere! It is "soil persnickety"?
Even clover seed is expensive. Vetch used to be popular as a cover crop. THAT seed is almost as expensive as alfalfa!
Plus fertilizer at $2000/ton!
Doesn't take long to see the folly in planting a 100 acre cover crops!
Most folks around here plant wheat or rye (the grain, not the grass!) and graze it for winter pasture for market calves.

Yeah, the cover crops around here are rye, and it's used as a nutrient bank and to prevent erosion. In the spring they kill it and it releases stored nutrients as it decomposes, with the objective of reducing the amount of fertilizer needed that season.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Another charged $25/mo. Sounded good until I realized I sold $38 worth of produce and only got a $6 check!

LOL, my buddy did something similar. Spent a couple hundred dollars growing sweet corn and didn't break even after selling it.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Long story short, it’s done so that they have one fewer passes in the spring prior to planting. Spring is typically wetter and they are time crunched to get seed in the ground.

That's the theory I've always heard as well. However, if its a wet season, can't a guy use a shorter maturity variety if time crunched? Seems like when they have to replant wet spots they're able to get a crop off it even if a few weeks later.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Yeah, the cover crops around here are rye, and it's used as a nutrient bank and to prevent erosion. In the spring they kill it and it releases stored nutrients as it decomposes, with the objective of reducing the amount of fertilizer needed that season.

"Green manure"?

 

[Wheels]

That's the theory I've always heard as well. However, if its a wet season, can't a guy use a shorter maturity variety if time crunched? Seems like when they have to replant wet spots they're able to get a crop off it even if a few weeks later.

They can, but as the saying goes “ make hay when the sun shines”. If the fields are dry, they are turning them over. Typically, all the flat ground gets cultivated in the fall and the hills get it before planting.

 

[49ereric]

No till is the future and has been for decades but change happens slowly. Problem is the ground warms slower in the spring but the ground holds way more moisture plus more benefits.
I have not tilled a garden in @30 years & use heavy mulch to keep the ground covered and composting action. Rain has been iffy the last few summers and no till & mulch has helped dramatically.