Fall Tillage Tips to Boost Your Spring Planting Success

Although harvest seems like the culmination of the year’s work, taking time now to complete fall tillage is key to setting your fields up for the next year. An even layer of residue means consistent moisture and temperature in spring when it’s time to plant. That process starts with the combine. 

“Every pass on the field needs to complement the planter for the following spring,” said CJ Parker, Case IH North America tillage marketing manager. “As headers get wider and wider, it’s more important than ever to make sure you don’t have pockets of residue that can affect how your plants get up and growing.”

Fall is also a good time to break up compaction layers and smooth out ruts that may have been left after harvest. 

“We recommend taking a spade out to the field and digging up a hole about the size of a 5-gallon bucket,” Parker said. “If you run the tip of a pocket knife up from the bottom of the hole to the top, you’ll find where your compaction layer is. 

“We recommend that the best time and fuel spent is to run tillage about an inch to an inch and a half below that compaction layer,” he continued.

Relieving compaction works like using a skid loader to remove a sidewalk, he said. You don’t dig down underneath the concrete; you just take the lip of the bucket and pop it off.

Steps for Success

Regardless of the type of tillage you choose, completing as much preseason prep as you can helps ensure optimal performance. Avoiding repairs and delays during the available window of time available for tillage can add to your bottom line. 

Daniel Stansbury, AgRevolution corporate service director, offered this checklist to help save time and money when it comes to fall tillage. 

Complete a Thorough Inspection

Stansbury said he recommends checking over your entire implement for wear and tear, loose bolts, and general damage, focusing on crucial components such as blades, discs, tines, bearings, and hydraulic hoses. 

“Some dealers offer a preseason parts or service program, which could include an inspection,” he said. “Taking advantage of this, if available, can help save farmers time and money.”

Address Wear and Tear

Upon completing your inspection, use the information you gathered to repair items requiring attention. Promptly replace worn blades, discs, sweeps, shovels, points, belts, chains, and filters to maintain efficiency and avoid soil compaction. Sharpen blades and coulters for optimal cutting and soil penetration. Ensure that shanks are not twisted and fasteners and bushings are in good condition. Examine tires for wear and proper inflation, and check that wheel bearings rotate smoothly.

Parker said he recommends running blades at 25% of radius for best performance. 

“If you don’t have that 25%, you’re just pushing the soil around, not getting the cutting edge to cut and size the residue,” he said.

Adjustments and Settings

Make sure your machine is level, both front to back and side to side. Set appropriate gang angles for soil conditions and residue management. Verify your drawbar height before hooking up to a new tractor. 

Know Which Tool to Use

“Not all fields need the same type of tillage,” Stansbury said. “Understanding ground conditions and the reason for tilling is imperative.”

Reasons you may consider fall tillage: 

• Residue management. Excessive residue can hinder spring planting and potentially impact growth. According to Stansbury, vertical tillage tools are an excellent choice for residue management when used right after the combine to size residue and enhance decomposition. 
• Breaking up hardpan. Breaking up hardpan layers improves soil drainage and root penetration. This is particularly beneficial in areas with poor drainage or previously compacted soil. Disc rippers, disc chisels, or chisel plows are options that can till 8–12 inches while leaving 30%–45% of residue on the surface, Stansbury said. 
• Incorporating organic matter and fertilizer. Vertical tillage tools chop up residue and lightly work the top 1–4 inches of soil, leaving fertilizer and organic matter just below the soil surface to help ensure they don’t run off with rain, keeping them available for next year’s crop. 

Also, keep your tractor in mind when choosing a tillage implement. Parker said the horsepower required and the speed at which you want to operate are factors in choosing the right size tillage tool. 

Know When to Start 

“The sweet spot is often near field capacity but below the plastic limit,” Stansbury said. “Field capacity is when the soil holds the maximum amount of water after excess water has drained away. The plastic limit is the moisture content at which soil starts to behave plastically — be molded without crumbling.

“Tillage at or near this point minimizes clod formation and maximizes compaction efforts,” he continued.

To test your soil, grab a handful from the depth you intend to till, and squeeze it. If water drips out or easily forms a ribbon, the soil is too wet. If it forms a ball but easily crumbles when you drop it or poke it, it’s likely at an ideal moisture level. If it crumbles like sand and doesn’t form a ball, it may be too dry, especially if you’re dealing with heavier clay or loam. 

Technology Improvements

In recent years, companies have improved tillage technology to help automate the process for optimal efficiency. 

“The Case IH SoilCommand technology allows the operator to make settings and adjustments with just a touch on the in-cab monitor,” Parker said. “It will automatically relevel the machine when necessary, and you can adjust gang angles from 0°–12°, depending on how aggressive you want to be.”

Case IH also offers prescription tillage interfaces when using their tillage tools with their tractors. 

John Deere’s TruSet Active tillage technology offers similar features on their implements, and PTX Trimble said it plans to release autonomous tillage technology in its OutRun lineup in 2026.