Tillage or heavy harrow for 2011

[Ron]

Just wondering what to do with the ruts
I'm leaving now?
Two passes with a heavy harrow will
knock down the stubble (less snow catch)
and soften the ruts some. If I disc the
ruts out and break the surface mat I
dont think it will support a tractor for
seeding next year?
I already decided I'm top dressing crops
after seeding next year, I dont want the
NH3 tank pulling me down into the muck.
I remember a few years back there was
talk of a polymer coating and dormant
seeding cereals? I could get on most of
my acres now but its gonna be ugly in
the spring.

[Ron]

(the ruts arent everywhere, probably 10
acres out of each quarter. But if I disc
them they are in the lowest/wetest spots.
They may be smoother but I wont have a
chance to seed them in the spring)

[TOM4CWB]

Ron,

You could...Back drag the ruts with a loader or blade.

[TOM4CWB]

Ron,

It may be worth the trouble to get a land leveler and rig up a couple of shanks at the right spacing to till just the rut; and then level it in the same pass.

[BreadWinner]

Compaction in soil will lead to poor yields. The ground is so hard due to all the rain that I think it is going to be very hard pulling the seeding equipment without loosening up the ground first. It wont dry out unless it is tilled in our part of the praries. We are 10 yr no tillers and we are going to work every acre that we can. The ruts will be there for years.

[nicolaas]

We have been wet in the fall before, and left lots of ruts. We disked about 1/2" depth only on ruts. That seemed to level them out O.K. You can even drag a bar of diamond harrows behind the disk. You can leave the rest of the field no till. Depending on how deep the ruts (less than 4-5" or so) you can seed through them. Had a very good canola crop when I did this, but since it was still too rutted and bumpy for fast spraying, I ended up spiking and Harrowing the field the following fall.