Thought for the week.
The dry conditions in many parts of the country are ideal for ploughing the heavier soils in need of winter weather prior to spring cropping.
Optimise tractor tyre pressures, match front furrow widths precisely, adjust skimmers to peel green material into the bottom of the furrow (keep forward speed down), and plough as shallow as possible.
If the weather gets wetter, delay ploughing. If you cannot delay, remove a furrow (if possible) or close up a variable width machine in order to minimise wheel slip. Smearing of the furrow bottom is a cardinal sin !
Where possible plough across the slope to reduce soil erosion from heavy rain.
Dominic Watts Consultancy
dominicwatts7@gmail.com
