Nobody would have believed after the past few years in the Western Corn Belt that we would want a break in the rain. Iowa certainly has had its share, even though some spots are drying out again. My family in Minnesota has been screaming at Mother Nature to turn the spigot off for a little bit as well. It’s made us appreciate the fail-safes we have in place to help mitigate the damage water can do to our fields. That would be the tiling systems we have underground.
Many farms have been upgrading their systems, adding to the existing tile, or replacing old broken tile systems. Tile is by no means something new to agriculture, but it is a tool that has been modernized in the past few years. Troy Aalsma is with Kartechner Brother, LLC., and he talks about how modern systems are doing.
The work doesn’t end with installation. You have to maintain your systems, especially if part of that is still using old clay lines.
While it can be a tough price to swallow in the beginning, it pays for itself rapidly. Provided you are not in a drought.
Aalsma says that with the spring we have seen in the Western Cornbelt, it’s not too early to be planning for upgrades for after harvest.
