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Tag Archives Soil compaction

OMAFRA’s Chris Brown talked about a cross trench dug in cover crop strips to show root depth and subsurface characteristics of different covers.
Crops, Machinery

Controlling compaction need not be expensive

Elgin field day highlights high-tech and low-tech methods of reducing compaction

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Getting a handle on compaction starts with knowing how much equipment weighs and how some practical techniques can alleviate the iron load. Farmers, agronomists, and equipment dealers gathered at Elgin Compaction Day in Shedden on Aug. 7 and 8 to discuss how compaction happens, as well as how to fix and prevent it. Why it […] Read more
Deep ripping to eliminate a compaction layer should only be done after doing some work to find out exactly how deep that layer goes down in the soil profile.
Machinery

Farmers should focus on reducing soil compaction

Digging holes can show how deep the problem of compaction lies below the surface

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To till or not to till, that is the question. The question is simple but the answer isn’t. Ask different people for their opinions and you’ll get a variety of answers. The real answer might be “maybe. But if you do, do it properly.” Tillage specialists from Case IH said during an Arizona field tour […] Read more
Burying sensors in the soil and running machines over top, like this demonstration at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, 
helps engineers establish tire inflation pressure guidelines to minimize soil compaction problems.
Machinery

Looking for machinery compaction data

Ontario team working to establish tire inflation guidelines

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Preventing soil compaction is something farmers should keep in mind, particularly with the scale of modern farm equipment. At Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., Alex Barrie, engineer in training with the Ontario Environmental Management Branch, demonstrated his group’s efforts to study the impact equipment can have on the soil. They have been conducting […] Read more
The ‘Smart Soils’ panel at the Ag 4.0.2 conference included Jordanna Kalis from SoilOptix, Taylor Vokes from Sprucedale Agromart and Jake Kraayenbrink, owner of Agbrink. The panel was moderated by Keith Reid (r), a local farmer and the Alternative Land Use Services program co-ordinator for Grey-Bruce.
Crops

Making technology work for healthier soil

Farmers have to make decisions on which soil-health technologies they want to adopt

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Building and maintaining soil health increasingly involves technology. The challenge for farmers is deciding which approach they invest in to monitor and maintain their soil health. Three different approaches using technology to solve soil health problems were presented at the Grey County’s third annual Ag 4.0.2 conference held Nov. 1, 2018 in Meaford. Why it […] Read more
OMAFRA engineer-in-training Alex Barrie gives a signal to the driver of a self-propelled sprayer during a session about soil compaction.
Crops, Machinery

Farmers look to trucking industry to help soil compaction issues

Weight distribution across increasingly heavy equipment is critical

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Truckers in North America and farmers in Europe know all about regulations related to weight of equipment — and innovative solutions to deal with those regulations. At a session during the recent FarmSmart Expo at the University of Guelph’s Elora Research Station, Ontario farmers heard they might need to learn those strategies one day. “The […] Read more

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