Below you'll find a random collection (mostly) online articles, websites, videos and other tidbits relating to growing the food we eat. Feel free to send along pieces you think would be a good addition to this collection.
Below are links to stories about SUNY ESF grads that are out standing in their fields - literally!
A number of farming practices, implements, structures, etc. will be mentioned throughout the course. It has occurred to me that some of you might not be familiar with some of these practices? Therefore, below you'll find images and/or links to video clips of many of these items.
(Note: if there are other terms, practices, pieces of equipment, etc. that are mentioned over the course of the semester that aren't familiar to you, please let me know and I'll add it/them to this list.
There are nearly as many tillage strategies and implements as there are farmers. The traditional objectives of tillage practices include turning the soil to kill living weeds by burying them, and incorporating remnants of previous crops and amendments (fertilizers, lime, gypsum, etc.), followed by the preparation of the soil surface to be planted by directly seeding into the soil or planting transplants/plugs either by hand or by machine.
The traditional sequence of tillage practices followed by much of the agriculture industry up until the past forty years or so included:
Moldboard Plowing - performed in the fall as soon as crop harvest is finished or in early spring as soon as fields are dry enough to work. Plowing can leave the surface of relatively dry, sandy soils in nearly ready-to-plant condition. However, more typically, plowing leaves "heavier" (more clay-like) soils in a fairly coarse condition that is not ready to receive seeds or transplants.(link)
Disking (or discing) - this operation typically follows shortly after plowing. The goal is to break apart the very large (sometimes one to two cubic foot), coarse aggregates/clods into smaller aggregates. Typically, even after disking, the soil surface is not yet fine enough to accept seeds or transplants. In reduced tillage systems, plowing is not done every year and disking may become the primary tillage operation. (link)
Harrowing - the goal of this operation is to further break apart large soil clumps/clods, leaving only relatively small soil aggregates and resulting in a seed/transplant bed that's ready for planting. There are many different type of harrows including chain harrows, tine harrows, spring tine harrows, and rotary harrows - as well as numerous variations of these three types. They are often attached directly to the back of a disk (which requires a larger tractor to pull), or may be used independently after a field has been disked (which requires a much smaller tractor).
Relying on plowing as the first step in annual tillage practices often results in the development of a "plow-pan" (or "hardpan," "plow layer, etc.) over the course of several years, especially in heavy, poorly draining clay soils as explained about ninety seconds into the Integrated Crop Management "Soil Preparation" video. This results in water being trapped on top of this densely compacted layer (often referred to as a "perched" water table) after heavy rain, forcing oxygen out of pore spaces and resulting in roots suffocating. During dry weather, roots cannot penetrate the compacted soil layer, preventing them from accessing moist, well-aerated soil deeper in the soil profile during dry weather.
Implements designed to break apart this dense layer of compacted soil include:
Chisel Plow - this tillage tool consists of a tool bar to which a series of curved shanks are attached. At the tips of the shanks are either "points" or "shovels." Depending upon the size of the implement and power of the tractor, a chisel plow can penetrate to a depth of roughly eight to twelve inches. The goal of this implement is to both break through relatively shallow plow-pan layers while also moderately tilling the soil, leaving much of the previous crop residue on the soil surface. (link)
Subsoiler - somewhat similar in appearance to a chisel plow, a subsoiler consists of very thick, straight or curved steel shanks tipped by steel points. The purpose of a subsoiler is to specifically rip through compacted, subsurface soil layers with little consideration for soil tillage. In most applications, a subsoiler will slightly lift the soil as it passes ad the soil then quickly resettles, leaving little evidence of the operation on the soil surface. (link)
Over the past twenty years or so, many/most commercial-scale farmers have started using some (of many) variations of a "disk ripper" tillage implement as they move toward "low-till" or "minimal-till" practices.
Disc Ripper - this technique leaves more of the previous crop's debris on the soil surface which helps reduce the potential for erosion, (theoretically) reduces the formation of a "plow-pan" layer, and can often create an exceptable seed/transplant bed in one operation versus the three operations above; plowing, disking and harrowing. This reduces the potential for soil compaction while usually providing a significant savings of fuel and labor. (link)