"Fabric Layer" Helps Stop Erosion

"Fabric Layer" Helps Stop Erosion TILLAGE EUIPMENT Erosion Control 22-5-19 "It's a great way to reduce erosion in newly formed grass waterways and anywhere else erosion is a problem," says Rollin Primus of Steamboat Rock, Iowa, about his pull-type fabric layer that unrolls and buries a woven fabric that shores up erodable soils. He got help from his father Claus and machine shop owner Gary Harms. The 2-wheeled machine is equipped with a tillage point and steel knife on back with a roll of fabric on a horizontal shaft above it. As the point digs down, the fabric is unrolled in the slot and buried about 18 in. deep with 18 in. left above ground. "It's much less work than making a trench, laying down the fabric, and filling it back up with dirt in separate passes," says Primus. "The knife point goes about 22 in. deep, with about half the fabric under ground and half above ground. It takes 3 to 4 ft. for the knife to get all the way in the ground. We put 25-ft. lengths of fabric across the bottom of the waterway, spacing them about 50 to 100 ft. apart. "Using the fabric can make the difference in whether or not we have to reshape water-ways after a rainstorm. Water running down the waterway hits the fabric and is retarded by the fabric. You might get some small cuts in the waterway, but it won't totally wash out. The fabric helps prevent washing even after the grass is up. It's not 100 percent perfect, but it stops the big cuts. "I've used the machine to install more than 5,000 ft. of fabric for other farmers. I built four models last winter and sold three of them for about $3,000 apiece." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rollin Primus, 12236 220th, Steamboat Rock, Iowa 50672 (ph 515 869-5276).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.