Tillage Innovation Profiles

 

Don Rickard, Bowmanville, Durham Region
Soil Type: Loam | Farm Operation: Cash/Seed Crop
Years in Operation of Coulter Harrow: 2

Tillage/Cropping System

System: Coulter Harrow
Fall Tillage: RTS one pass
Spring Tillage: cultivator one pass

Planter Make, Model and Description
  • Corn: Case IH 900 6 row x 30 inch with trash whippers
  • Beans and Cereals: Great Plains 1500 CPH with zone tillage coulters and following harrows
Tillage/Coulter Dimensions:
  • RTS: 20 inch coulter 7 1/2 inches apart
  • Great Plains-17 inch coulter directly ahead of planting row

Fertilizer System:
Liquid In furrow:
Broadcast: none
Dry Banded: actual 9-42-40
Additional Nitrogen on Planter: none
Sidedress N: 120 actual (Anhydrous Ammonia)

Salford RTS
Producer's Comments

Pros

Cons
  • RTS simplifies tillage operations.
  • Tillage fuel costs reduce in half (no plowing)
  • Quicker field preparations with reduced labour costs.
  • Transition from conventional tillage to minimal tillage requires management of varying soil conditions, especially moisture conditions, as RTS can cause compaction if soil conditions are too wet when used. Therefore cultivating is used to keep the soil tilled open as needed.