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Jefferson, SD | I bought a qtr in 2019. Flat as it gets. Soils are very heavy clay and tile doesn't work in clay this fine. It's split into 2 even 80's with ditches on each end of the 160 and the middle that splits the two fields. Already has a pivot. Rough estimates to level are $800-$1200 per acre including the survey and pin work. Each 80 will end up with a high spot in the middle and slope to each end. It's hard to get done as we need really dry conditions and this type of clay takes forever to get dry down 6+ inches. I'd say every 3-5 years the ditches will need silt removed and then spread back in spots that don't drain well. More frequent if we get a monster rain event. Notill and strip till really reduce the maintenance frequency compared to the days of all conventional till. We have a large number of land leveled fields in this area. It greatly improved drainage and also is needed to flood irrigate when you have no natural slope. | |
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Cost to level land to grade
