|
southern MN | Wa & NE are a cold climate?????? :) :) :) :)
It's a challenge, this past winter we had a mild winter - more like the NE folks perhaps, and it sure waseasy getting the field ready!
Typically there is a deep layer of snow in the stalks, and it takes forever for it to dry out & warm up and the frost to leave the ground in our saturated clay soils.
I have a single 3pt disk, run that over the stalks as soon as I can with a very light tractor just to stir things a little, get some black dirt showing.
Then a disking, and field cultivating, and plant.
I did chisel plow one spring, but that typically does not work well in these soils, spring heavy tillage is a no-no most years. And a real disk is also a no-no in this clay, packs it more that works it when it's wet. Beyond my real light 3pt disk, one has to be real careful what you do with a disk in spring.
So, it can be a real challenge. Every year is different when the ground is so cold, so wet, frost so deep. Lasy year was dry and warm for us, the cattle got to eat all winter as the snow was only a few inches. So I was able to work the field cultivator through what remained of the stalks, only bunched a few times, was able to fix it real nice seedbed with a second pass of the field cultivator. Very rare year tho.
I'm only talking 35 acres or so here, and only 1/2 - 3/4 goes back into corn on corn, so I'm just a pretender in this game. But at least I am in the real north! :)
--->Paul | |
|
|
grazing stalks, corn on corn and tillage
