We are contemplating going in that direction because of the rock we have in our corn fields. Conventional plowing and discing with a concave disc blade setup brings up some rocks we had just rather not deal with. All the new or used tools we are finding are a lot bigger that we really need. Any leads on vertical tillage tools 8-10 ft in width? Pictured below is typically what we are finding. Way too big for 40 acres No till Corn Operation. Ken Sweet
I'm considering that option as a way of dealing with heavy crop residue with corn on corn ground. Gonna shop around at the National Farm Machinery Show in Feb. Cost may be prohibitive even with 300+ acres of corn I'll be planting this year.
I've seen a few older disc's with dish blades removed in favor of wavy coulters. With that, to get the desired effect, disc gangs need to be set nearly straight.
Corn will tend to root to a depth where soil density changes. Even a slight variation has a powerful effect. I've seen field studies where ground that was fall chiseled to a depth of 20", then a field cultivator was run at a depth of 6" in the spring. The corn would root to the 6" point, then start spreading instead of rooting deeper. Same test, the soil was worked (in spring) to depth of 4".....and corn rooted 4" deep. The thought behind MOST vertical tillage used in this part of the country is, soil is worked no more than a couple inches (at most), roughly the same depth as the planter will run. When the corn roots, it doesn't hit a change in soil density, therefore, it continues to root deeper. In the results of the field trial I saw, corn grown in otherwise un-worked soil, just vertical tilled to a depth of 1", corn rooted almost 2' deep.
Some vertical tillage equipment will have straight shank rippers also. They're intended to fracture plow pan, but not disturb soil structure in the upper 10" or 12". Those machines will generally require a good bit of HP for anything of significant width.
I'm a big believer in no till. To make that work well, soil structure needs to "improve" naturally where possible. Many of the newer hybrids (corn) tend to leave behind VERY heavy residue (even with chopping corn heads on combine...) Planting corn on corn, as is becoming more prevalent, you have to deal with the residue in some fashion, or it becomes a serious issue when planting. Vertical tillage seems to be that answer (at least in my case) Also, with the increase in roundup resistant weeds, other forms of weed treatments are required (again) The most popular is simply returning to the "old days" and using various pre-emerge products. Many of those need to be EITHER incorporated in the soil OR depend on timely rains to get the product down in the soil structure, as quite a few don't work as well when simply left on the surface. ....Vertical tillage gives you an opportunity to incorporate that pre into the upper 1" or 2" of soil without grossly effecting soil structure (in terms of common no tilling practices)
Long story short, vertical tillage seems to have a place when used in a no till style of farming. However, as you mentioned, due to the changing times, MOST all vert-till equipment is targeting large "BIG TIME OPERATORS" and their high hp tractors. Those of us who're surviving with equipment that is relatively small by todays standards, we have to improvise, or suck it up and buy tractors that are just simply way too big relative to the number of acres we farm. My 4440 Deere is about as big as I plan to go at this point in my old age!
Go to U-Tube and search for vertical tillage....Most of the popular brands will have video's showing their current line-ups. There is also a number of videos that explain all the advantages of vert-till. Every farmer worth his salt is usually able to "adapt/improvise/overcome" with some sort of modification to existing/older equipment to get the desired results. (ie....straight coulters on an older disc frame....)