Intensive Tillage: Effective Farming or Wasted Money?

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Andy "aTrippyFarmer" Dole is a 6th generation farmer from Central Illinois. On this farm, Andy works alongside his father, Marty, his uncles, Chris and Jeff, and his sister, Katie, to grow corn and soybeans on some of the finest dirt in the world. Andy and his family are deeply rooted in the area, operating a large farm that traces it origins back into the 1800s. Although some tracts did not stand the test of time, Andy and his family still grow corn and soybeans on fields that have been in the family for longer than even the oldest members of the farm have been alive. We do, we have, and we always will take tremendous pride in calling this piece of paradise our home. Andy was a Bronze Tablet graduate of the University of Illinois in the field of Crop Sciences, following the same path as his father and late grandfather.
It would be misleading for Andy to claim that this life is one that came by chance; rather, as a member of two multi-generational farm families, it was simply in his blood. His passion for agriculture traces back to his early youth--some of his fondest, earliest memories being of days spent riding in the combine with his father and grandfather. Although his understanding of the lifestyle was much less complex in the beginning, the love he has for farming, and its industry has only appreciated through time. As this dream blossomed into adulthood, Andy now works relentlessly, and tirelessly, to chase his own dreams and to build a farming operation of his own alongside his family.
We, as a whole operation, are handymen, electricians, mechanics, landscapers, accountants, economists, caretakers, stewards, and, most importantly, farmers, and we take an incredible amount of pride in our work. There is no challenge too overwhelming, no situation too stressful, and no problem too difficult for us to take on, and we want to take you along with us. Welcome to our farm and welcome to our lives. You have the best seat in the house to watch the everyday chaos of farming unfold--we usually only get concerned when things aren't going wrong!
Follow Andy on Social Media for Live Updates:
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[@hulmestanner]

We do all kind of tillage. True vertical with a Salford. Light top disturbance and deeper disturbance with a high speed disk, disk ripper, inline ripper, and cover crops. After this year I have a lot more confidence in what the cover crops are doing. We had an event of 11” of rain in 9 days and those corn fields were some of our best and didn’t show much water damage. I think the roots are helping to drain water. I think we could almost eliminate the rippers anymore especially since we went to bigger tires on the combines and tracks on the grain cart. I’m seeing a big benefit in weed control with the cover crops as well

[@hulmestanner]

I think we will keep atleast the inline ripper around to do endrows that we don’t have any choice to pull truck in and out of

[@framfull]

Always satisfying to see the result of a good ripper. Big wheels way to go🤠

[@peteparker7396]

Two things Andy. 1- you may need to change the points, certain ones will blow the ground out. 2- they make squirrel cages you can hang off of each shank, it helps close things off and smooth a few chunks. One other thought, how much wider are those shin guards compared to the shanks? As you may know, I don’t grow corn and beans. Cotton and peanuts. We run 9 shanks on 40’s. Cotton does not like compaction. So we run a stalk puller and then rip where we are going to plant. Then! We plant wheat and triticale between the shanks. It helps tremendously. But we only do it every three years. So we have things on rotations. We can’t do it on our drip irrigation. And yes we call ours the flow line finder. Count your blessings, your oil wells are disappearing, drilling continues in my part of the world.

[@ryanmeece648]

Hey Andy! Love the content man. Our operation is actually based just north of you in Monticello, IL. For almost 10 years now we’ve been chiseling our beanstubble and running a Case IH 330VT on our stalk ground. We were fortunate up here to have many corn fields that yielded in the high 270s to even the low 290s and we were finding out up until this last rain event that the dry weather and lack of stalk degradation was making the 330 struggle in the sheer amount of residue we are seeing on these farms. We are going to try running a Krause Xcelerator when conditions are finally fit to see what we think of the job it does. We also intend to spray some residue digester products this fall from BW Fusion with our fall burndown pass in hopes to enhance our soils that much more and utilize the abundance of nutrients available in that residue. Thanks for what ya do Andy!

[@DavidRansom-xt8io]

Some of the other inline rippers have wings on the tips and they seem to lift the whole soil profile up across the ripper instead of blowing out the soil at the shank.

[@brandonhickman6658]

I can tell you that in west central Indiana we have tried all forms of tillage and also No Till over three years with not really a big difference in yield either way. I think it’s more dependent on weather and moisture than anything else. The price of inputs as always would would cause me to lean to whatever is the most cost effective form of tillage considering fuel and hours on the machines. Awesome video as always!

[@nefarmer]

I run a blue jet sometimes. I like to run the "spring tips" over the "fall tips", it still heaves the ground and leaves it a lot smoother on top.

[@billjohnson2462]

Great video as always, Andy. Small tip and money saver: No need to put washer and nuts on those shear bolts. Use the new bolt to beat the old / broken bolt out and you’re done. Once that unit goes in the ground, those bolts are locked in tight and won’t ever work themselves out. Trust me. I replaced many every year

[@SemperFido9915]

My old man was like that too, Andy. From 6am to 10pm, he didn't slow down. Often working 100+ hours a week. He was very hard to keep up with.

[@RickyCervo]

Here in northern Italy someone use a shredder in the header or with tractor for mulch corn stalks, someone plows and someone practice minimum tillage with discs or light cultivators. Cover crops are not much usual

[@dypk-x3n]

i personally love machines like that blue one. you are definitely not alone with the no till theory.

[@steveunholzer2056]

Going to a winged point will definitely put that tractor on its knees, and do more fracturing that you are now. Just a possible suggestion

[@aTrippyFarmer]

I will explore that idea. Those points are expensive!

[@davedammitt7691]

I remember the oil wells east of I-57 along Etna road. When I was a kid, I asked your mom's Grandpa one time how much money he made off of those oil wells. His answer? "Just about enough to maintain the lanes to get to them" lol

[@normmiller-l4o]

Andy With the high yields and the rich fertile soils you have you have to do some tillage to break down the stalks and other residue. In southern wisconsin and heavy non irrigated soil we tried no til on corn on corn and results were terrible. Yields dropped from 225/acre to barely 185. And seasons were very similar as far as rainfall and heater units.

[@calebschenck8757]

Spent a lot of time in a in-line ripper as a part time guy. Farmer always said 3 mph is plenty fast. It’s a slow boring job but it was plantable the next spring.

[@michel4music]

I once lost a tedder wheel, I knew in which track but didn't manage to find it searching for 30 min.😆

[@ajmccoy7968]

I am from Fisher Illinois and we use a chisel plow and a horsch joker rt40

[@stevevandine8592]

That clay layer is what gets tamped down by water holding above it and packing sealing it off making underground pond bases and above when it rains just keeps compounding rarely ever get deep enough to drain it and why tile is usually only way to keep it draining through the clay and why it's harder there then pulling through gravel and sand which drains and doesn't pack

[@D11_tracks]

Enjoyed the video - great narrative and pics

[@AhTechus]

This video is absolutely amazing

[@EastonStroh]

Growing up we did inline rippers but we sold ours, I work for Lee farms and excavating out of Paxton Illinois, from running a plow when I was 13 to running it at 17 now I love doing it, we mainly do chisels, we run 7 mph on a good field gets that good 6-7 inch and gets best of both worlds of deep and top work. We have transfered to more speed till but we still do both of both worlds because we two don’t really know which actually works better from numbers!

[@UTMDiscovery]

I really enjoy watching how massive and modern agricultural machines work. Does anyone share this interest with me?

[@TheNathan343]

Andy , I think tillage in the fall is a must I think getting that corn material chopped up and buried under the dirt helps put nutrients back into the soil and also adds nutrients back to the soil which will help next year's crop i also think deep tillage helps get rid of compaction which will help the crops put their roots down deeper next year i think you're doing a great job

[@ronkeking97]

There are plenty of farmerswho do no til and get very good crops the year after. There is no set way.

[@greggostrowski3632]

East Central Indiana we run a Kuhn Krause excelerator over all corn stalks and have been playing around on bean stubble

[@andykettlewell6301]

Strip til bean to corn ground. VT corn to bean ground. Deep ripe headlands, landings and select ground when needed…..🤷🏻‍♂️

[@gunnarbeck225]

We run a chisel plow behind the high-speed disc, we use a Drago, 33 footer and then the chisel plow is a 35-footer chisel mandako in this makes beautiful soil

[@hstwodrainage.1410]

Ripping up and down the field for a few years, I then go and rip at 90 degrees to it. Then the next ripping at 45 degrees, I feel this does better than just up and down. I also like wings on the points, lifts up more ground.

[@joekeusch5995]

Who wants to keep putting the hours on the tractors and equipment for no reason? I'm not a no-till absolutest, and there are times when we have to scratch around, but for the most part I avoid it. We have had some fields with no mechanical tillage the last 40 years and results have been very positive.

[@EvanC8]

Tracks just pull way better than tires. And a lot less compaction. Also never any power hop. Especially in wet conditions.

[@uglyduckfarms5295]

Now we are a little different down here in Missouri and it’s a sod farm but we have noticed the only places a ripper does a lot of good is the headlands and where the trucks run across the field

[@jeffcrivelli2906]

I would think that this tool would be a great one to use on the headlands at least. With all the turning of planters, harvesters, grain carts, etc the headlands always seem to have lower yields with water penetration issues.

[@aTrippyFarmer]

That is a very common place that these are used. Some people solely run them across the ends!

[@outfishingagain]

Hallo Andy.Inline rippers pull harder than V rippers.Your middle shank on v rippers brake up compaction for the second shank making them pull a lot easier also leaving a smoother finish.

[@FarmGearInnovators]

Loved the balance between minimal disturbance and deep tillage goals-mother nature healing vs. manual effort is such an interesting debate. 🌱 What's everyone’s take: to rip deep or let frost do the work?

[@benoitvaillancourt4845]

there is something so satisfying about subsoiling

[@wyatt12358]

Good to see you are not digging up a lot of rocks

[@P_Rund1952]

We require a cover crop on our farms we rent out, not always successful depending on weather. This year shallow vertical tillage after spreading seen was very successful after early beans, fair to OK after late beans and corn. Too many weeks of no rain for good germination after the later crops. SW Tippecanoe county, 3- miles east of IL line.

[@jasonike13]

I suggest a trial of old school. Disc in the fall and field cultivate in the spring before planting. Rip every 3or 4 years to replace plowing.

[@gunnarbeck225]

You should run baskets behind the ripper that's what we do each individual ripper would have a basket behind a shank it makes a world of difference having a spring-loaded basket behind their

[@billwhitman1529]

I guess I'm old school, I like to see tillage. At the same time, I can see the wisdom of sub-soiling every 4th year behind no-till. I was a young man when we transitioned from moldboarding to chiseling and we definitely gained with the chisel plow as it broke up the pan that had developed after decades of moldboard plowing. You brought up a question as to why you don't plant wheat with a double-crop soybean followup?

[@georgegozelski7330]

Love the deep ripping however, I think that with your type of ground, a heavy duty chisel plow might give you a better end result!

[@allenwalters9068]

We run 730c or old glencoe chisel on our corn stalks, if were going back to corn we disk first before running the 730c on. Bean fround usually gets field cultivated in the fall, but dry fall it all got disked. We on occasion chisel or run 730c on some did 50 acres ripped ends so could run nh3 on easier

[@M.TariqKhan883]

Good job and farming

[@melvinalbert6172]

In North Dakota we use a case ih disc ripper and a 5200 salford for corn ground

[@billymorton102]

Ironic comment. "Not doing anything productive, just going back and forth" Your hopefully improving next year's conditions, that productivity. Grant it, it can get boring, but I've always enjoyed heavy tillage work. I'm retired now, but my brother is a strict no-till/regenerative dude. Note: we live in North Mississippi. Very different climate, which must be taken into account. Enjoy your family! Time passes waaaay too fast.

[@M.TariqKhan883]

Nice farming🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

[@buildmotosykletist1987]

Location, location, location. What works up the road does not always work down the road. Every bit of land is different, every solution is a compromise for that farm and that paddock. We have three distinctly different soils here. Each has it's own compromises.

[@wohliq1]

i think deep cultivators are good where the tires of the combines and sprayers run, otherwise its probably not needed if there was flood or other soil compacting events

[@John-nc4bl]

Deep ripping will take care of any truck tracks following the combine when dumping on the go.

[@justinbradley193]

I’m from Oshkosh Wisconsin and we you use a salford i2200 vertical till on our corn ground. But all of our acres are pattern tiled every 35 feet. All of our ground is heavy red clay we don’t do any heavy tillage anymore.

[@billyrob252]

We run a JD 2680H and we till and no till here in Eastern NC

[@golfernky1687]

I'd say if you put rolling basketball on your ripper would help lots. And be able to run a bit faster

[@winncollins2356]

Could probably run your vt over it and smooth it out some or get something with baskets or a roller on the back of it

[@danieljunker1045]

The DMI 2500 in my opinion is the best. Leaves the soil I disturbed on the top and lifts and drops the soil. We have a Great Plains and hate it. Comes out of the ground and pulls extremely hard

[@johnnylindsey5808]

Good job guys

[@Pimp_Farmer]

I've found I find my yield increase the 2nd year after i run a inline ripper

[@DaKomedian]

Tillage tool depends on soil type. Gas prices too

[@DaKomedian]

NE Indiana

[@chrisstalsonburg]

Why don’t you guys try winter rye??

[@ClevelandBaldwin-w2n]

Do you get 250 a bushel on dryland corn 🌽

[@imagoodlistener2730]

Trippy. You could measure with the unit in the ground. Measure your rippers to a reference point on the frame. When in the ground measure from frame ref. Point to grade, subtract the diff.

[@volvojohn9036]

Much easier and more accurate, it's the simple things we sometimes don't see. Good one.

[@nitmorm8135]

Nice 👍

[@abergynolwyn4247]

I respect the hard work during the growing season, but don't "crop" farmers get the whole winter off?

[@aTrippyFarmer]

The work slows down, especially in November/December, but there is still a lot to do. The weather becomes an issue for a lot of work.

[@wyatt12358]

do you do any mold board plowing

[@wyatt12358]

Do you do any cover cropping?

[@wyatt12358]

Do you tile every 40 feet or less

[@rockgeluk9746]

Does it increase yield?

[@johndenoma6397]

What about hydraulic rolling baskets?

[@bfd1565]

Katie likes to operate fast... L0L

[@johnblosser2809]

Im looking at a 9570r with the Cummins. What's the good/bad with that over the deere engine? What's your thoughts on the Cummins?

[@Beyonder8335]

As a disclaimer I’ve never run either so I can’t say a ton, but going what I’ve heard from friends/deere techs the 13.5L isn’t a great engine, they’re prone to grenading themselves from what I heard (very rarely, but far more common than other engines like the 9L jd) haven’t heard much of anything good or bad about the Cummins ones.

[@erich4693]

We have a 2018 9570 w a Cummins. Just my opinion, but it was purchased because of the Cummins. Have a friend who has a 9470r 13.5. He just put in a new jd engine. 60-70 grand I believe was the cost. But hey, he has a new warranty for awhile😂

[@Beyonder8335]

@@erich4693 the old one grenade itself or what?

[@ClevelandBaldwin-w2n]

Do you strip teal

[@mikedowell8978]

You be sore Katy in 8 days keep getting it lot too do keep up with dad

[@phillipwhite2615]

Consider spraying microbes to help boost break down of corn stalks or bean fields?

[@peltondean5025]

It will pay .....100%

[@elge6747]

I believe your points are too wide and it causes to blow the soil instead of doing like a hot knife trought butter The dryness is a factor too, I would have waited for an inch of rain. Here in France since the end of 2023 we're the opposit of you, very wet ...

[@NickJones-n5y]

He bitches about the smell ripper two people on the implement that goes 10mph.

[@666bruv]

Take it to the next level, and look at implementing biology

[@alonzoluckett1054]

Slow down and it will pull it better you can't run it in 10th or 11th gear

[@timmorris4735]

Those boys are growing like pigweed

[@EvanC8]

Zero till

[@mungogerryjnr]

🤐