Cultivation vs plo(ugh)wing between crops

[QuaverYam]

I've trawled through all of the online guides for the game but my mind can't make heads of tales of what is the correct way here. Let me give an example:

I have a field of oats, I harvest them, and want to sow wheat in the same field after the oat harvest.

Can I cultivate and then sow wheat without having a 15% yield reduction, or do I NEED to use a ploughing between each new different crop.

I understand the need for ploughing with the likes of potatoes and other root crops, but for grains the correct answer isnt quite jumping out at me.

Thanks in advance:) I'm quite new to the game

[kahfs]

In the original game your yield will reduce 15% if you don't plough after corn, potato, sugarbeet and sugarcane. I don't now if the seasons mod changes this. I don't think many corn growers in the US has owned a plough for many years. Many don't even cultivate a corn field.

[Illinois Farmer]

That's a false statement. Many u.s farmers chisel plow all corn ground after harvest. It isn't the traditional plow you see in game, but it still tears up the soil. Many farmers hit the ground early spring and then come along in cultivator or disc before planting corn. Usually it is wheat or soybeans that are no till.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

You can always just turn plowing off. If I am playing in a part of the world where it isn't common I do. You would still need to if creating a new field or sometimes if buying field though.

If you have a seeder that doesn't need cultivating prior there is no need unless you have fertilized first, then that needs to be mixed down.

If you want to play in a region of the world that it is necessary to play "realistically" you would plow, (possibly fertilize & lime), cultivate, then seed.

If you are on PC there are lots of mods that allow plowing with equipment other than the roll over plows that are common in the game.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

In the original game your yield will reduce 15% if you don't plough after corn, potato, sugarbeet and sugarcane. I don't now if the seasons mod changes this. I don't think many corn growers in the US has owned a plough for many years. Many don't even cultivate a corn field.

That's a false statement. Many u.s farmers chisel plow all corn ground after harvest. It isn't the traditional plow you see in game, but it still tears up the soil. Many farmers hit the ground early spring and then come along in cultivator or disc before planting corn. Usually it is wheat or soybeans that are no till.

You are both right and wrong, zero till corn is gaining in popularity however there are still some soil types that need to be worked down, and some farmers are more stubborn and don't want, or can't afford the equipment to change

[Illinois Farmer]

https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/201 ... n-the-u-s/
According to that article all corn planted in 2016 only 27% was to till corn. That to me would say many farmers do some sort of tillage before planting corn. Not the other way around or many u.s farmers no till corn.

[kahfs]

https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/201 ... n-the-u-s/
According to that article all corn planted in 2016 only 27% was to till corn. That to me would say many farmers do some sort of tillage before planting corn. Not the other way around or many u.s farmers no till corn.

Thank you for correcting this. I wasn't counting chisel plowing as the type of plowing asked about. But you are absoutely correct that chisel plowing (1) will work in FS and (2) many still do chisel plowing.

[Illinois Farmer]

Yeah the traditional plowing isn't as common. I only know like two people have one still.

[Farmercaseih]

We have some but we dont use them we just use a Great Plains ripper

[humbe]

Hehe.. I think the original poster wanted to figure out how the game works, though it's fun to hear details about real life farming (Though I don't understand half of it)

As far as the game is concerned, check out the map "Soil composition" tab. It will show you what fields need plowing. (I think if it needs lime it will show this first, so turn off "needs lime" by pressing on it to see all fields that needs plowing) The game also says you need to plow every year after the crops mentioned above, and every 3rd year for other types of crops. The 2 of 3 other years, cultivation is sufficient. If you turn off periodic plowing option I believe you will not need to plow every 3rd year, but I think you still need to plow after the specific crops mentioned. I don't think seasons changes this. I'd trust the graphics on the map first though, so check that.

[garyst]

That's a false statement. Many u.s farmers chisel plow all corn ground after harvest. It isn't the traditional plow you see in game, but it still tears up the soil. Many farmers hit the ground early spring and then come along in cultivator or disc before planting corn. Usually it is wheat or soybeans that are no till.

Here in the deep south the farmers use a disk after corn harvest then bed up rows after that. In the spring most will pass a du-all seedbed finisher first then a hipper roller to refresh the bedded rows and level off the tops before planting corn. All the corn over here is planted on beds. The only crop that I have seen no-till planted here is milo, but over the last few years the farmers who grow milo have moved back to doing tillage before planting.

[Bryan83]

I've trawled through all of the online guides for the game but my mind can't make heads of tales of what is the correct way here. Let me give an example:

I have a field of oats, I harvest them, and want to sow wheat in the same field after the oat harvest.

Can I cultivate and then sow wheat without having a 15% yield reduction, or do I NEED to use a ploughing between each new different crop.

I understand the need for ploughing with the likes of potatoes and other root crops, but for grains the correct answer isnt quite jumping out at me.

Thanks in advance:) I'm quite new to the game

So to answer your question from a game perspective, you do not need to plow between every cereal crop. If you have periodic plowing required on, the I believe it's every third crop you need to plow. If you get a direct seeder, you don't even have to cultivate prior to planting. Hope this helps you.

[Ritchie]

Nope, the need to plough after every third crop was removed (you're thinking of FS17). It's ploughing after every harvest for corn and root crops only.

There's no need to plough with cereal crops, cultivate after every harvest (or use a direct drill that cultivates and seeds in one pass) and lime after every third harvest.

[Blown]

Nope, the need to plough after every third crop was removed (you're thinking of FS17). It's ploughing after every harvest for corn and root crops only.

There's no need to plough with cereal crops, cultivate after every harvest (or use a direct drill that cultivates and seeds in one pass) and lime after every third harvest.

So why does my game tell me I need to plough after every third wheat harvest if I dont turn it off?

[kahfs]

I really enjoy hearing the dos and don'ts from real life. Could someone give an overview of the different kinds of tillage. I'm interested in particular to learn the difference between a chisel plow and a subsoiler. I understand from Illinois Farmer, that a chisel plow moves the soil vertically. I had the impression that a subsoiler loosen the soil without lifting/turning it. Am I right? I often hear american farmers talk about VT. I've never found out what VT stands for, Vertical Tillage maybe? Is that a chisel plow or a disc harrow? And what is a ripper? Is it just an American word for a tine harrow? I would be very pleased to hear also about the use of these tillage implements. We have them all in FS and many of us would like to use the correct one for the right job.