Wheat School: Getting a handle on headland compaction

Wheat shows all, especially when it comes to the impact compaction can have on seed planted in to the headlands portion of a field.

On this episode of RealAgriculture's Wheat School, we catch up with resident agronomist Peter Johnson in a field near Stratford, Ont., as he looks for ways to combat compaction. In this field, Johnson says repeated passes on the headlands by the cultivator, planter, combine, and grain wagon not only produces struggling yellow wheat but it also impacts other crops in the rotation.

When it comes corn and soybeans, there may appear to be a crop on the headlands, but yield maps tell the truth — there's typically little yield for any crop, Johnson notes.

During the wet fall of 2021, many Ontario growers were forced to plant wheat in difficult conditions, which contributed to compaction. Johnson says many had to "push it" to get their wheat planted, but he believes growers can do a better job and find ways to avoid compaction, even in wet conditions, so they can grow crop on every acre they farm.

In this field, Johnson looks at the impact of centre-fill planters which concentrate weight on the drill. In this case, the gang wheels have a negative impact on wheat emergence and overall performance.

#farming #wheat #soil #compaction

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[MCatSHF]

Hello RealAgriculture:
I don't know.
Some tout the benefits of using the controlled traffic zones method of farming. They are giving up a small percentage of their fields to travel on & not grow a crop on.

It's inevitable that you have to pick up at the headland to change direction of travel.
Maybe think of your headlands in the same way. You're sacrificing the few in order to save the many.

[scottsteinberger]

I believe this is the majority of the problem in north Dakota