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Some Nebraska farmers facing soil compaction problemsHASTINGS, Neb. (AP)--In a year like this, when crops were slow to develop and then frequent fall rains impeded harvest, many farmers may count themselves more fortunate than usual if they have all their picking and cutting wrapped up prior to Thanksgiving. In order to finish before winter sets in, however, many farmers have returned to fields with their combines at times when soggy ground conditions might normally have led them to wait a while longer and allow more time for drying. Now, some of those farmers may spend the cold months wondering how much problem with soil compaction they will experience as a result. Wet soil compressed under the weight of combines, tractors, grain carts and trucks can form a hard layer that is difficult for crop roots and water to infiltrate in the future. Plants grown on that type of compressed soil may be smaller and less vigorous and may not take water the way they should. Also, they may be more susceptible to disease and insect pressures than they would be otherwise. "Plant roots need air spaces in the soil to grow into and through," said Ron Seymour, Extension agriculture educator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Adams County. And while ruts on the surface of the field provide ready evidence of compaction, the compaction layer can extend well below the surface of the rows where wheels ran down through the root zone for future years' plantings. "It's a mess," Seymour said. "It's probably one of the worst things that can happen to you (as a crop producer). It can heal itself, but it takes a long time." Many farmers concentrated this year on cutting their soybeans first, allowing extra time for moisture content levels in their corn to decrease. Meanwhile, one rain delay followed another. Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network readings since Sept. 1 show some impressive totals up to 13 inches and beyond in one location northwest of Hildreth and 10 to 12 inches at numerous other reporting stations. While farmers took the necessary steps to get a valuable crop in the bin, Seymour said, some field damage has been done in the process. "It's been wet," he said. "I think people have pushed it more than they should have." Brandy VanDeWalle, Seymour's UNL Extension counterpart in Fillmore County, said most farmers in her area have finished harvest by now, and that for the most part the corn stood up in the fields long enough for them to get to it. She agreed that the ground took a beating in the process, however. "I've seen some of the fields where there are quite a few tracks," she said. UNL experts say the more soils are tilled using a disk or other implements, the more susceptible to compaction they will become. When soil is tilled less, it contains more organic matter (debris from past crops) and therefore has more structure to it, meaning it can better withstand the weight of heavy machines like combines. Seymour warned that, no matter how bad the compaction may be, farmers will only make matters worse if they go out and try to disk or deep-till a field when it is too wet. "If it's compacted now and it's wet, there's really nothing you can do," Seymour said. Given enough time, compaction layers will break up naturally, aided by soil freezing and thawing, Seymour said. 12/8/08 Date: 12/3/08
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