Soil Conservation with Regular Farm Equipment

water soil and Sun these make the universe with ample water on good soil warmed by the Sun crops grow luxurious lush bountiful luscious yes on this earth we live by water for water is life to plants to animals to man down from the heavens it comes water for the land billions upon billions of tons of it immeasurable oceans of water pulled by the matchless power of the Sun lifted atom by atom up to the clouds again without water crops that once gave promise wither in the Sun and wind water can be the difference between life or death production or destruction proper handling of rainwater and melting snows will prevent such damage as is evident in the eroded pasture beyond nature's own way was to cover the earth with a protective mantle of grass trees and other vegetation but man must till the land to live there is no water erosion problem on this manure livid field if all the land were covered with vegetation or were perfectly leveled or if it absorbed rainfall readily there would be little runoff but there are slopes with soils that cannot drink in dashing rain fast enough runoff carries silt seed and fertilizers to the lowlands both of the fields and into the creeks and rivers starting ugly washes that may someday twist or break your equipment this is sheet erosion the beginning of gullies the forerunners of eventual abandonment of the land this is the result of faulty Park here maybe the cause rose up and down a gentle slope encouraging runoff in heavy or long continued rains each little shovel mark a channel to the sea after the deluge the little waters have run away taking soil seed fertility fortunately there are effective defenses against runoff damming one of the simplest is contour farming tilling and planting across the slope instead of up and down for the best view go into the skies this is conservation farming round farming in square country contouring will prevent serious runoff in the ordinary rain a shovel mark a wheel track row of grain level across the slope hold the water until it seeps into the soil where the slopes are long or steep or on land that absorbs water slowly contouring alone may not be enough strip dropping another bulwark of soil depends can be added here you have it feels contour strip against erosion that this is the principle working to perfection each strip of field in the established crop rotation alternating bands of small grain row crops and grass legume hay fields spreads squarely across the path of runoff water in these fields you see two vegetated water outlets the natural depressions and drainage ways paved with grass against the gully in effect of excess runoff that otherwise will inevitably occur a third line of defense against soil erosion is the terrace in this field you see how effectively terraces trap the surplus water most terrace systems are the so called drainage type each Terrace constructed with a gentle gradient thus water caught in its downward race moved slowly and safely out of the terrace and into a protected outlet as with the terrace system itself the outlet should be designed with the help of a soil conservationist your county agent an experienced farmer or anyone qualified to do the job we have seen three of the main mechanical defenses against erosion with all three of them simple contouring strip cropping and terracing tillage is on the contour railways use the contour principle trains run as nearly on the level as possible contour farming is like that on the level to lighten the load save fuel and time and money farming up and down slope is about as illogical as running a train over the hills first up with a hard pull then coasting down easy wasteful of time and fuel and energy if your farm is even gently rolling the chances are you can profitably use contouring strip cropping or terracing perhaps all free but you may ask will I need special equipment to practice soil conservation the answer is definitely no you can do it with your present equipment but many farms that are adopting a conservation plan must be conditioned for it Gulley's like this wasteful and costly to farm around can be filled quickly and inexpensively with the disk tiller or the moldboard plow the operator cuts the first slice with the tiller away from the gulley bank on successive rounds he sweeps the loose soil in toward the gully round and round cut and sweep take a new bite and sweep it in actually that's all there is to this job however avoid driving your outfit too closely to ditch banks at the start but that is not only dangerous but also unnecessary instead you roll the soil up to the gully edge repeat the process until the soil falls into the ditch this job can be hurried along by setting the tiller or plough shallow if necessary in order to drive faster and throw the soil farther when the gully is nearly full the operator can work his outfit in closer as the accident hazard is lessen whether the gully filling job requires a round or two as with a small wash or a dozen rounds or more as in this instance the principle of earth-moving is the same in little more than an hour's time this ditch was filled ready for grassing or for cropping establishing waterways is one of the initial steps in a conservation plan because terraces concentrate water thus giving it cutting power outlet should be well established before the terraces are constructed the initial step in building terraces is surveying and staking the terrace lines again a job for someone who has had previous experience or training with guide stakes set a helper leads the operator on his first round where you start the cuts the order in which you make them varies widely follow the approved method in your locality the return trip of the first round on the lower side of guts takes the first complete round establishes the island usually the ridge is built by moving soil down from above and up from below you want a farmable channel on the upside a down slope that is equally adapted to the use of modern power equipment the terrace is taking shape this is an earthmoving job the disk tiller is ideally suited to it if operated at the proper speed on this trip the ridge is being built by throwing the soil up from below the tiller gives even this loosened soil a noticeable throw number of rounds necessary will vary with soil type steepness of slope and other conditions it will vary with soil that's wet or dry Saudi or loose ordinarily 20 to 35 rounds will do the job up one side and back on the other around and around until channel terrace and back slope meet the desired standard the last wave moves up to the ridge where the guide steaks were originally set now we've built a terrace having a channel as well as upper and lower slopes that are tillable ears prove that this terrace will catch hold and carry away excess water ridge height and channel cross-section exceed requirements many farmers construct terraces with the moldboard plow the principle is the same survey and stakeout the terrace Ridgeline establish the island then move the soil in to form the ridge speed counts here too the faster you move the better your plow throws the soil this is terras construction as accomplished by an experienced farmer a past winner of terracing contests he knows just where and how to drive for best results on each round taking a slice on the lower side he loses no time on turns with modern power equipment he lifts and lowers the bottoms without even looking around down one side and up the other sweeping soil in to make the rig any farmer can easily learn to do this job cutting a slice on the outside the downslope here the plow must throw soil uphill and back again on the inside he's throwing soil down slope but upward against the upper slope of the terrace nearing the end of the job the terrace is almost finished and ready to prepare for Planet this is a terrace as built by a champion that's what an experienced farmer can do with the moldboard plow unless established terraces are painstakingly maintained watched constantly for minor breaks channel water may overtop them wash through as it has done in this minor break the tiller and the plow are good maintenance tools the return trip on the upper side the operation here is maintenance plowing of the terrace combined with normal tillage operations on the balance of the field the operation shown here parallels the original terraced construction simply throwing soil to the ridge from above and below rebuilding it replacing the soil that has worked down from the ridge if the terrorists area is in normal cropping maintenance of this sort is usually done each year now the break the over top place in the ridge is almost completely refilled but that loose soil will settle with the rains the careful conservation farmer will watch this danger area keeping the low spot field to prevent another breakthrough Tara's maintenance plowing with the tiller is customary in the south also the job is combined with flat breaking of the entire field common practice in many sections is to cut stocks into the soil with the stock cutter and disk Errol this view is on southern terrorists land and farmers in the deep south using power equipment more and more find the better planner well adapted to the broad base terrace the lister works equally well tractor and better find no difficulty following contours or working over the terrace ridges even in loose soil listing on the contour is an additional aid in holding water until it seeps into the soil regardless of the type of planting equipment you have it can be used on terraced land in the Corn Belt farmers are adopting soil saving methods to hold their rich soil on this completely terraced and contoured farm the operator plants his terraced fields easily with the to road drawn planter how it works on terraces may be judged from the fact that the height of this Terrace is 26 inches at least 6 inches higher than ordinary in this territory cultivating corn is always a job requiring accurate work the outfit must stay precisely on the roll and move the proper amount of soil into the roll this modern outfit does that and does it on the tightly curving contours and even on the sharply sloping terrace ridges when you see it done you know it can be done and it gets the weeds and grass particularly that troublesome small grass in the corn row in the south to farmers do this ticklish job on sharply bending terraced slopes cultivating cotton peanuts and other crops they do it clean fast and right conservation farming often means more hay bigger harvests the hey chopper simplifies the hay making job saves labor and cuts costs to the minimum there is no heavy pitching with an outfit like this on the job it picks up all the hay around the curves and on the slopes remember the strip crop fields the bands of small grain around the heels they are no problem to the light combine farmers find it equally maneuverable inside those narrow strips or on the short abrupt slopes of terraces where this combine is working or creeping through down grain winding its way along the terrace grasp waterways vital in conservation tillage must be protected not ripped up you need quick positive action on your disc harrow gang modern equipment gives that action in crossing the waterway a touch of the hand on the control lever straightens the game's angles them again instantly on the other side raising planters misters and other seeding equipment also is necessary to protect the grass waterway it is easily done with modern equipment here you see a mounted planter which is especially adapted to contoured field that's where your equipment maker has joined hands with conservation for many of these improvements were designed for convenience in conservation farming this is a two row cultivator operating in a contoured cornfield the row crop cultivators would be especially damaging if they were not raised in crossing the grass watercourses power lifts provide instant raising and lowering to permit feather edging both sides of the vegetated outlet in soil maintenance the manure spreader is almost indispensable or no conservation farmer deserves the name if barnyard manure is wasted on his place likewise long used fuse demand ground limestone basic slag or other soil sweeteners having applied the line to his pasture land this farmer now cultivates it in adding fertilizers if necessary these are the important practices in pasture maintenance and pasture renovation the legumes those marvelous nitrogen makers are important in soil maintenance they too belong in conservation farming what you get out of your soil and how long you can continue profitable farming depends upon how you manage your land your county agent and your local soil conservationist can help you farm the conservation way a plan can be fitted to your land too and once the plan is established your soil will be fortified against exhaustion the land is your heritage preserve it