Direct Drilling

 

No-Till or direct-drilling is the term given to establishing crops and pastures with out any prior tillage. Control and reduction of vegetation and weeds is achieved by either chemicals or livestock or both.

 

Non-inversion tillage and direct drilling go hand-in-hand. Direct drilling promotes the benefits of Agrowplowing reducing risk of erosion and prolonging the effect of deep ripping through less soil traffic. This leads to reduced compaction and enhanced root growth encouraging healthier and deeper soils.

 

Soil Compaction

Soil compaction is a form of soil degradation. It strangles the life out of soil and severely impacts on yields. Yield losses of up to 40% are not uncommon. In extreme cases yields can be reduced by up to 80% and severe erosion can occur.

 

Causes of Soil Compaction

 

Soil compaction is caused by normal farming activities including using tractors, implements, headers, vehicles, cultivation, livestock and irrigation.

 

The weight of vehicles and livestock compress the soil. Cultivation breaks down soil aggregates, soil structure, porosity and humus. The worst damage occurs in wet soils, with high stocking rates, frequent vehicle traffic and intensive cultivation. Any activity which reduces the porosity or bulk of your soil is causing soil compaction.

Compacted soil becomes denser leading to decreased porosity of the soil. This causes reduced:

 

-Water infiltration

-Humus levels

-Soil aeration

-Worm activity

-Microbe activity

-Water retention

-Root growth

-Crop yields