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SW MN and Gold Canyon AZ | Read some of the comments on this idea and compaction ect...
I made a list of some of the problems I face and see other farmers struggle with and there impact on yield potential in order of there importance.
1st on my list--- DRAINAGE,If you have no tile and the ground stays wet then compaction becomes more of a problem, but compaction is not the source of the problem its excess water from lack of drainage. Land I own is pattern tiled and I have no problems with compaction. Land I rent has need for tile, always mudding around in years like this. So drainage is my no#1 yield limiter. I would spend money on tile before any machinary purchase. Traffic patterns are not going to solve the problem.Tile would have the fastest return on investment.Tile it and compaction is a moot point.
2nd-- Variety and hybrid selection. 10 bu difference in corn yield or 4 bu on beans this year was 40$ acre potential dollars lost. This is huge if you figure even 500 acres of production. I think there is lots of room for improvement here.
3rd--Fertility- after using manure heavily for many years now I realize how much yield I was giving up by not keeping my fertility levels up. After renting new farms and taking soil tests I realized how much some farmers had mined the soils. One farm I rented had 3 parts per million phos levels!!! Thats low. After seeing the ASCS proven yields I knew it had limited his yields.
Other yield limiters include planting dates, row widths on soybeans,low populations on corn, combine settings and last but not least is compaction. I feel here in the upper midwest that our freezing and thawing cycles and our dry wet cycles take out most of the compaction. While pattern tiling my farm, I got to dig LOTS of holes hooking up tile lines. I saw no problems with compaction or hard pans. I follow no set traffic patterns and use minimum tillage. We have heavy black webster and nicolet clarion soils with a heavy clay subsoil.
As far as a cart behind the combine, I vote no. There is enouhg stuff to watch without having something behind the combine to worry about. Just give me a big enough tank to make a round. I have a hard enough time unloading into wagons and hitting the center, I can't imagine trying to look back when its dark and trying to unload a cart 20 ft behind the combine.
Right now we just put big wagons on each end of the field. Don't have enough help to run a grain cart. 2 people hauling can't keep up to the combine now.
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combine design idea part 2
