With input costs skyrocketing and crop prices stagnating, times are really tight for a lot farmers, who might be looking for any solution to log an acceptable year.

Some of you might be looking for a quick fix — but is the answer really tillage? In a recent Ag PhD reel, Darren Hefty argued that pulling out the moldboard plow and mining the fertility and soil organic matter might allow farmers to apply less fertilizer this year and save money in the short term.

“It’s the absolute last case, break-glass-if-emergency situation, but if I’m there (in a tough spot financially) I’d probably do something like that,” Hefty suggested while answering questions on the show about how tillage affects soil organic matter.

Yes, in the short-term, plowing a field might provide an initial flush of nutrient mineralization as oxygen enters the soil. But let’s talk about what's being loss in the process:

  • A large amount of soil organic matter will be lost, which will damage nutrient-use efficiency and potentially require you to apply HIGHER rates of fertilizer in the future. There are vast pools of organic nutrients in the soil that can be converted to inorganic forms and useable for the crop if there is enough soil biology to convert it. 
  • Some 80% of compaction in soils is caused by the first pass. That’s not good for the rooting or yield potential of future crops.
  • Depending on the intensity, tillage will cause a loss of soil moisture. We’re talking about full-width plowing here, so expect a maximum effect. 
  • The amount of fuel and labor spent to plow soil isn’t being factored into the conversation. The most recent University of Illinois estimates for field operation costs says operating a moldboard plow costs a total of $54.50 an acre.

If you’re thinking about dragging a plow across your fields to feel like something is being accomplished, try this instead: spend that $54 an acre toward planting a nice cover crop this fall after harvest to put nutrients back INTO the soil. 

Prices or markets could change next year, when you’ll want to be ready for a strong recovery. Damaging your soils will take a much longer time to fix.