Soil Restoration Plow

Soil Restoration Plow TILLAGE EUIPMENT Plows 14-3-28 "Our new `soil restoration' plow is equipped with long, slim moldboard bottoms that turn the soil part way over to sandwich crop residue between furrows instead of burying it on the bottom like conventional mold-board plows. The result is reduced soil erosion and improved soil structure," says Jake Rozendaal, manager, Salford Farm Machinery Ltd., Salford, Ontario. Rozendaal imports the 35-in. long, 15-in. high moldboard bottoms from Rumptstad, a Dutch company whose plows are widely used throughout Holland. After trying the plow on his own farm, Rozendaal, who was raised in Holland, decided to build his own plow frame (for North American plowing conditions) and mount the moldboard bottoms on it. "Most moldboard plows bury almost all of the crop residue underground which can result in excessive soil erosion," says Rozendaal. "Our soil restoration plow incorporates soil instead of burying it."It turns the soil over at a 135? angle instead of 180? and leaves about 20% of the residue on top. Remaining residue is evenly sandwiched between the slanted furrows where air and moisture can easily reach it for rapid de-composition. The resulting humus contains readily available plant food. Soil and residue are bound together resulting in improved soil structure and less likelihood of soil erosion." According to Rozendaal, the Rumptstad moldboard plow bottoms were designed to solve drainage problems on Holland's low-lying, heavy, flat clay land. "Residue left by the Rumptstad plow breaks up the surface so water can seep down through. However, the Rumptstad plow isn't suited to North American conditions because it doesn't have enough clearance for corn stalks and isn't equipped with automatic reset. I built the frame to accommodate corn stalks without plugging up. It also does a beautiful job in sod and stubble. The long, slim moldboards pull easier than conventional moldboards because they roll soil over instead of throwing it, reducing horsepower requirements by 10 to 20% depending on soil type." The plow has 40 in. fore-aft clearance and 33 in. under-beam clearance and is equipped with automatic reset and spring-cushioned 20-in. ripple coulters. Moldboards can be set to vary in width from 11 to 22 in. A 4-furrow model sells for $11,260, 5-furrow for $13,850, and 6-furrow for $16,200. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Salford Farm Machinery Ltd., Salford, Ontario, Canada NOJ 1W0 (ph 519 485-1293).

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