An extension educator says the journey to reducing tillage begins at harvest.
Jodi DeJong-Hughes is with the University of Minnesota.
“Less tillage or no-till does not mean you don’t do any prep work. It starts off with the combine, you have to have a combine that spreads out the chaff all the way across the width of the combine pass. Because planters have to get through that residue the next year.”
She tells Brownfield planting with automatic down pressure helps.
“And trash rippers or residue managers in the front, so it can get that residue out of the way in case there’s a little bit left there. So that’s how you would want to start to get into strip-till.”
DeJong-Hughes says some of the benefits of reduced tillage are less erosion and better water infiltration.
Brownfield interviewed DeJong-Hughes during the Midwest Soil Management Summit in Mankato Wednesday.
