The Offset Disk:

This implement consists of large concave disks mounted in two rows opposing each other. The gongs cut and throw the soil in opposite directions.

• Primary tillage operation.
• Breaks up soil to 8-10" (20-25 cm).
• Shallow incorporation of residues for rapid decay.
• Good surface mulch effect for erosion reduction,
• Low cost per acre.
• 12-14 h.p. needed per foot width.
  Diesel fuel requirements:
• 0.95 gal/ac for loams (10.67 I/ha)
• 1.28 gal/ac for clays (14.37 I/ha)

The Chisel Plow

This implement consists of multiple rows of staggered curved shanks mounted rigidly, with spring cushions, or with spring resets.

• Primary tillage operation.
• Breaks up soil to 8-10" (20-25 cm).
• Shallow 'incorporation of residues for rapid decay.
• Good surface mulch effect for erosion reduction.
• Low cost per acre.
• Good ridging effect.
• Minimal compaction.
• Operating speed 5 mph or higher,
• Requires 15 h.p. per shank
  Diesel fuel requirements:
• - .1.25 gal/ac for loams (14.04 I/ha)
• - 1.69 gal/ac for clays (18.98 I/ha)

The Coulter Chisel Plow

This implement consists of chis~el plows with gangs of flat or concave disks preceding the shanks to cut surface residues and vegetation.

• Primary tillage operation.
• Breaks up soil to 8-10 in, (20-25 cm).
• Shallow residue incorporation.
• Good surface mulch effect for erosion reduction.
• Good ridging effect.
• Minimal compaction.
• Low cost/acre.
• Requires 15 h.p. per shank.
• Operating speed 5 mph The Coulter Chisel Plow or higher.
  Diesel fuel requirements:
• - 1.30 gal/ac for loams (14.60 I/ha)
• - 1.70 gal/ac for clays (19.09 1/ha)

A prerequisite for any conservation tillage program requires a building up and balancing of soil nutrients and the judicious use of limestone to adjust soil pH, based on soil tests. With conservation tillage, all residues from a harvesting operation including straw and chaff on sloping land must be evenly distributed over the acreage being treated. Stubble cannot be plowed down at a time when erosion is likely to be most severe. However, the stubble may be chisel plowed or vibrashanked with one pass across the slope in the fall. The following systems may be considered in a conservation tillage system.

• Fall vibrashank, spring vibrashank - this provides shallow incorporation or residues for rapid decay, maximum surface mulch effect, minimal compaction, minimal ridging effect and low cost per acre. This should be used only on potato fields or clean-tilled grain fields where straw has been chopped and scattered.
• Fall disking, spring disking¹ - this provides shallow incorporation of crop residues for rapid decay, good surface mulch effect, good ridging effect, minimal compaction, low cost per acre and can be used only on potato fields, or clean-tilled grain where straw has been chopped and scattered.
• Fall chisel plow, spring vibrashank^l- this provides shallow incorporation of crop residues for rapid decay, good surface mulch effect, good ridging effect, minimal compaction, low cost per acre and can be used only on potato fields, or clean-tilled grain where straw has been chopped and scattered.
• Fall coulter chisel plow, spring vibrashank¹ -this allows shallow residue incorporation for rapid decay, good surface mulch effect, good ridging effect, minimal compaction, low cost per acre and can be used on all but sod fields.
• Fall subsoiling - on severely compacted ground subsoiling will break up compacted layers beneath the normal tillage zone to improve percolation of water.

A conservation tillage system would also involve planting a cover crop (winter cereal) on land which was left bare in the fall.

NOTE: Before you decide on a tillage system or the purchase of new tillage implements, you should develop a Soil Management Plan for your forming operations reflecting the needs of your farm. The plan should tell the previous usages of the soil, the present status of the soil, what future use will be and what needs to be done to achieve these objectives.

Benefits of Conservation Tillage over Conventional Tillage: Reduction of soil erosion and nutrient loss from soil erosion as is evident in this table below.

• Increased retention of soil moisture.
• Increased infiltration.
• Increased O.M. content in soil.
• Increased soil surface protection from crop residues.
• Lower cost per acre.
• Decreased compaction.

• Tractor speeds must be greater than 5 mph to effectively plow the field and achieve the desired ridging effect.
• Losses of N by denitrification and/or volatilization are potential problems that require some more research. The increased moisture, surface residue and reduced bulk density with conservation tillage are more conducive to denitrification losses.
• As soil mixing is reduced, both P and K should, be applied in the row at planting. The row K is especially important in soils that compact easily.
• Lime must be applied as required by soil tests, to prevent the formation of an acid surface layer that could reduce herbicide activity, root development and nutrient availability.
• Populations of Rhizoctonia solani in topsoil survive in colonized plant debris, Deep turning the soil (20-30 cm) with a mouldboard plow which buries the debris, effectively removes the fungal populases from the root zone. In contrast, chisel plows, etc. leave most of the plant debris and the pathogen in the topsoil. Thus, seedling tissues may come into contact with the pathogen and be invaded a few days after planting, resulting in poor stands or deformed plants.

Current weed control practices are less effective under conservation tillage.

Some farmers may resist change in tillage practices even though economic and other benefits (e.g. reduced soil erosion) indicate a need for change, because they feel their current methods are successful. Certainly, change solely for the sake of change can be counterproductive. One must look at the overall cropping system to determine if a change is needed, and if so, what that change should be. Some factors to consider in this regard are:

• Is soil erosion a major concern on your farm operation?
• Are you experiencing reduced yields?
• Is soil compaction becoming a major problem on your farm?
• Are high operational costs eating away at your profits?
• Are you carrying out a review of your equipment needs?
• Is the organic matter level content of your soil being depleted?

If the answers to the above questions are yes, then you should consider Conservation Tillage.

There are many benefits to be achieved through conservation tillage but successful application of conservation tillage systems requires good management by the farmer. Yield reductions could result if fertility and other management programs are neglected.