Vertical Tillage at the Farm Progress Show

The purpose of vertical tillage is to cut up residue and loosen the seedbed.  With that in mind I searched the Farm Progress Show to try to bring you a picture of a really good example.  My problem with most of what I saw was that the tools had curved disc blades set an angle.  What is the beef with that?  Curved disc blades set at angle will throw too much soil and cause too much compaction.  The other thing I saw on almost every tool was a rolling basket on the back.  In most parts of Southwest central and Southwestern Illinois where I do most of my work, the rolling baskets powder the soil which subjects it to crusting and puddling.

 

The tool below is called  a Smart till.  It may not technically be a vertical tillage tool, but it meets the requirement of loosening the seedbed and chopping up some residue.  It is similar to an Aerway.

The tool below has fluted discs that are mostly flat.  It is shown with discs running at an angle to rows, but it can be set to run parallel to rows.  It has sweeps between another gang of disks.  The sweeps will lift a bit without burying much. 

Below is a primary vertical tillage tool similar to DMI no-till Ripper that I have previously written about.  It cuts and lifts while burying very little residue.  The shanks are in line with one another for maximum lifting power.  This tool can be very valuable to reduce compaction in a high residue situation.  It also comes with optional strip till equipment behind the shanks.  The salesman also pointed out that he could sell me a rolling basket to pull behind it.  I explained my view on rolling baskets.