Hey folks. Picked up some ground last year and the landlord decided he wanted to graze about 60 head of beef cattle on roughly 40 acres on corn ground. We disengaged the chopping knives on the corn head and did not till the ground for those 40 acres, thinking the landlord would put the cattle out when it was frozen. Instead, they have been out there since November, and it never froze until Christmas. There's a bunch of deep tracks and ruts from the cattle, leaving no-till soybeans out of the question (which was the original plan). With that said, these are my questions,
1. How much of a compaction issue will this cause going forward for beans this coming year? Some places, the ground is churned up like a cattle yard (especially where he has the feeders). The agronomist I spoke with today said that the deep tracks from the cattle will not bother for compaction, but I do not if I truly believe that.
2. What are some options for tillage in the spring to both cut up standing corn stalks while also getting some compaction out and making a decent seed bed for soybeans to be planted in? Originally was thinking about running a Salford or Kuhn vertical tillage tool first pass followed by the field cultivator.
Looking for some guidance, insight, and experience dealing with this kind of headache. Don't be a smart ass