What's Up at the USDA Office?
Deadlines/Dates
September 15: Deadline to Update Payment Eligibility for Entities
September 30: Deadline to Complete Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Mid-Contract Management on the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP); Deadline to remove livestock from Non-Emergency Grazing of Conservation Reserve Program; Deadline to apply for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 1 Quality Loss; Office Fiscal Year Rollover
October 1: Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Mid-Contract Management on Conservation Reserve Program
December 31: Deadline to Apply for Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP)
Your Future Yield Is Hiding In That Residue
Fall tillage has been part of farming in Allamakee County for generations, and for understandable reasons. After harvest, producers often want to size residue, incorporate manure, smooth ruts, manage compaction, and get fields ready for a short spring planting window. On high-residue corn acres, fall tillage can seem like the practical choice - especially when spring weather is unpredictable and time is tight.
Our landscape raises the stakes. We farm in the Driftless Area, where rolling slopes, narrow valleys, trout streams, sinkhole-prone areas in some locations, and waterways connected to the Mississippi River system make soil loss more than a field-edge problem. When fall tillage leaves soil bare from harvest until spring canopy, that soil is exposed during one of the highest-risk times of the year.
Residue is the soil’s armor. Corn stalks and surface cover reduce raindrop impact, slow runoff, protect against wind, and help keep soil particles in place. When fall tillage buries that residue, winter freeze-thaw, snowmelt, and spring rains can detach soil and move it downhill as sheet erosion, rills, and gullies. Muddy water leaving a field is not just “dirt” washing away, it can also carry organic matter, phosphorus, and valuable topsoil with it.
Fall tillage can also weaken soil structure. Healthy soils depend on stable aggregates, pore spaces, earthworm channels, root pathways, and fungal networks. These features allow water to infiltrate rather than run off. Tillage may temporarily loosen soil, but it also breaks aggregates and disrupts pore continuity. After spring rains, tilled fields can seal, crust, and shed water especially on slopes.
Soil biology matters too. Earthworms, microbes, fungi, roots, and residue work together to cycle nutrients and build resilient soil. Repeated disturbance reduces habitat stability and speeds residue breakdown, making it harder to maintain organic matter and soil function over time.
That does not mean tillage is never needed. Manure incorporation, harvest ruts, drainage concerns, compaction, and residue management are real issues. The question is not whether tillage can ever be useful. The question is: Where can we reduce unnecessary fall tillage and still meet our management goals? A practical starting point may be the fields most at risk: long slopes, HEL ground, acres near streams, fields with recurring rills, or areas where runoff concentrates. Options such as no-till soybeans into corn stalks, strip-till, leaving more residue, targeted tillage instead of whole-field tillage, and cover crops can help keep soil covered, rooted, and more stable. In Allamakee County, residue is not trash; it is considered protection. Soil structure is not just a soil health talking point, it is farm infrastructure. And topsoil lost from a hillside is not easily replaced. The cleanest-looking field in November may be the most vulnerable field in April. Keeping more soil covered is one of the most practical ways to protect productivity, water quality, and the future of farming in Allamakee County.
