We know different combinations of tires and inflation cause different degrees of soil compaction, but until now there was no way to put a number on it.
The Scandinavian soil science project called Poseidon has given The Western Producer its readers access to an interactive calculator called Terranimo, which lets producers figure out that elusive soil compaction number for a specific combination of soil, implement, tires and inflation.
Although the soil selection under the heading of Global doesn’t include Canadian prairie soil types by name, the list of characteristics can be used to closely resemble them.
Read Also
Half million acres of Alberta crops affected by massive hail storm
Late August hail storm catches farmers in prime harvest mode, damaging half million acres of crops in Alberta.
The variables that can be manipulated in the calculator include percentage of clay, percent of silt, percent of sand, moisture, the percent of organic matter and bulk density, all specified at 15 depth levels.
Farmers can find specific sets of tires in the Terranimo catalogue of about 1,000 tire sizes and brands and then plug in different inflation pressures that they might try on their farms.
Unfortunately, the list of only 16 implements certainly falls short of what is present on Canadian prairie farms. Terranimo designers says they are continually adding new factors in all categories.
Once the information is entered, Terranimo creates a multiple layer image of the impact each tire has on the soil.
It has been suggested that the ready-built Terranimo format provides an opportunity for Canadian soil scientists and agricultural engineers to partner with their Scandinavian counterparts to bring the calculator into a Canadian prairie context.
Find the Terranimo calculator at www.terranimo.dk.
