Get your spring tiling projects started with planning & ordering

March 14, 2017

By Sara Hewitt, Farmer, Ag Educator, & Marketing Director of Hewitt Drainage Equipment
PRINSCO CUSTOMER & GUEST BLOGGER

With spring fast approaching, now is the time to plan for spring tiling needs.

Planning ahead is essential to the success of spring tiling projects. With weather variability always being a central factor to the completion of spring tiling, utilizing the months leading up to spring planting is crucial.

Completing a field tile plan is one task that can be done in advance. For example, utilizing an RTK system, tile systems can be mapped with an ATV in the field during the winter months. Creating tile maps this way ensures ground truthing for problematic areas in a field. If that isn’t an option, building a tile plan in a SMS water management module using public topography data is another option. If weather is preventing the ability to map from the field, an SMS water management module is another extremely useful tool. You can calculate the drainage and flow rates from your computer ahead of time and create maps that can be imported quickly and efficiently. Creating these maps and plans ahead of time allows them to be quickly plugged into tiling equipment for data transfer, which can mean increased efficiency while tiling and an earlier start date.  

With tile maps created, tile size, type, number of roles and number of mains can then be calculated. Purchasing tile as early as possible can save time and potentially money. Having tile delivered and on hand before a project begins will also decrease the potential for a tiling project to be delayed. As demand increases for tile, ensuring you have the tile you need is imperative to the success of the project.

There are many benefits to spring tiling. It promotes a faster warmup in field soil temperature, allowing farmers to be in the field sooner. Getting in the field sooner means crops will have a jump start with their maturity window, giving crops a competitive edge. Tiling in the spring also means farmers will have a better water management system in place when issues arise throughout the growing season.

You don’t have to wait the entire growing season for a fall tile installation, risking crop loss to poor water management. Tile projects can be completed bordering spring planting, or even during spring planting season with new shorter maturity crops hitting the market. It is now possible to install tile in a planted field, do a replant, and harvest a complete crop in the fall.

With spring tile installation and planning, agricultural fields will be ready to endure the turbulence of Mother Nature.

Categories: Agriculture