AMES, Iowa – Yield effects of soil compaction can be masked by moisture availability, timing of rainfall and fertilizer use under favorable weather conditions. Under unfavorable weather conditions, yield loss has been reported to be as high as 10 to 20 percent.
Soil compaction resulting from farm machinery and field traffic, ways to minimize compaction and strategies to mitigate soil compaction that may have already occurred will be demonstrated and discussed at a field day scheduled at the Iowa State University Agricultural Engineering/Agronomy Research Farm near Boone on Nov. 15.
The field day starts with check-in at 10 a.m. at the Field Extension Education Laboratory located at 1928 240th St., Boone, and the program starts at 10:30 a.m. In case of inclement weather, the field day will be held at the same time on Nov. 22.
In the afternoon, demonstrations of field equipment, including tractors, will be held at the field adjacent to the Soil Machine Dynamics Laboratory. Equipment will be driven over a specially constructed soil “lasagna” to demonstrate the amount of compaction caused by different tires and tire inflation pressures, noted Kapil Arora, field agricultural engineer with ISU Extension and Outreach. Soil pressure sensors, buried at different depths, will also be used to measure tire inflation pressure response.
A complimentary lunch sponsored by the Iowa Corn Growers Association will be served at noon to all registered participants. Registration is limited to 50 participants and is required for this event. The field day is being held in collaboration with AgriBrink, CNH Industrial and Elder Corporation.
Join the field day to watch and learn how tire technologies, tire pressures and tracks can impact soil compaction, and explore practices to manage it. Register online by Nov. 11.
You can also register by calling the ISU Extension and Outreach Boone County office at 515-432-3882, or by email at jlsoder@iastate.edu. Questions regarding the program can be directed to Kapil Arora at 515-291-0174 or Mehari Tekeste, associate professor, at 515-294-2464.
A shareable flyer with details about the field day is available online.
Photo credit: JJ Gouin/stock.adobe.com
(contributed press release, ISU Extension)
