Key Points

• The occasional strategic till can be a viable management option to minimise constraints from no-till systems without impacting on long-term soil health benefits.
• Consider the balance between soil erosion and degradation impacts from tilling against short-term profitability.
• Plan well. Timing is the major factor determining the success of strategic tillage.
• Watch the weather forecasts. Rainfall after the tillage operation determines the success of strategic till in no-till systems.
• There is a range of impacts from tilling and they change over time.

Use www.grdc.com.au/TT-StrategicTillage to keep up-to-date

Region North, South

• 1.77 mb GRDC Tips and Tactics Strategic Tillage in no-till systems 2016 (Web version) No-till farming systems that include minimal soil disturbance and stubble retention offer a wide range of economic, environmental and soil quality advantages compared to conventional tillage systems. However, there is growing evidence that strict no-till is unsustainable due to implications from the lack of soil disturbance.