A Simple Compaction Solution

A short conversation with Iowa grower Loran Steinlage about improving soil health by reducing compaction using controlled traffic

Acres U.S.A. What motivated you to start your controlled traffic experiments?

Loran Steinlage. I didn’t know I was motivated until people started talking about it, and I realized I was doing it already. 

2009 is when we officially started CTF (controlled-traffic farming). That’s right when we started our CSP contract, and they would pay us to do it. I already had the things purchased. I had my first tractor on 120-inch gauge. Just seeing what compaction did over the years was probably the biggest driving force. 

Using auto steer on contours took some learning. All the engineers told us to not do that. And Deere didn’t officially come out with that till about five years later. 

Acres U.S.A. How common is CTF these days? 

Steinlage. Farmers in Australia and Europe seem to be way ahead of us. In Australia, the dry soil actually compacts worse than wet soil. Their heat does the same thing as our frost. They bake the compaction out. We try to freeze it out.

Acres U.S.A. Why is CTF not well accepted here yet?

Steinlage. There are a couple reasons CTF acceptance is slow here in Iowa and in the U.S.A. Climate and weather are more forgiving. Crops are conducive to wide rows, so we can drive in between the rows. Overall volume of grain — in Australia, the yields aren’t near what they are here. And then mismatched equipment. You have to be committed to it. We kind of worked our way into it. Everything I have now is 30 foot, 120-inch tramline. Also, the more precise we become, the more precise we need to be. 

Acres U.S.A. Are there any new challenges with CTF now that you’re doing relay cropping?

Steinlage. Yeah. In Australia, they started talking about dirty tram lines — the biggest debate there was whether to seed tram lines. As we started doing relay cropping, it just becomes harder and harder. And when you’re talking 200-bushel-an-acre corn, you’re not gonna leave a row out, compared to if you’re talking 50-bushel-an-acre corn. It’s the same with their wheat yields in Australia — they’ll leave out a row, just because the land’s not going to produce anyway. So, economics is part of it. Trying to learn and understand all that is a big deal.

Acres U.S.A. But the soil health benefits make it worth it, right? 

Steinlage. Yeah, for sure. In 2014 we were interseeding cover crops, and the worst compaction we had was on our tram line. It was like two inches of asphalt. I’ve got test data that shows our tram lines versus the rest of the field.

It comes down to bulk density. In 2012, our tram lines were better than our neighbor’s soil already. The rest of our soil blew away native prairie nowadays. But we redid all that in 2017 or ’18. We rebuilt most of those spots. We didn’t have the people to do the testing that time, but it basically duplicated what we saw in 2012. Below two inches, we mitigated compaction with the CTF system. 

Compaction testing at Loran Steinlage’s farm, June 28, 2018

Acres U.S.A. How far does the compaction spread out? Does it stay along the tram line, or does it spread into the growing areas?

Steinlage. With the track tractors and a good tram line, it doesn’t spread out. It’s basically 16- or 18-inch tracks, down to about two inches deep in the soil. It’s not getting any deeper than that.