Soil Compaction and Farm Profits 

When soil becomes compacted, roots can’t reach nutrients and water. Research shows that soil compaction reduces yields between 14% and 70% in farms across North America and contributes to the loss of costly nutrients. That’s a lot of money left on the table!

A wide range of variables influences soil compaction, from the ground pressure applied by equipment and the moisture content of the ground during fieldwork to the structure of the soil itself.

That’s because the soil in your field isn’t a solid mass — on a microscopic level, it’s a massive pile of sand, silt and clay, bits of organic matter, billions of microbes, and glue-like substances that hold pieces together like mortar in a brick wall.

Between particles, micropores capture air and water in tiny, empty spaces that can be pumped out by roots. Larger macropores also harbor water in spaces big enough to allow gravity to drain water deeper into the soil profile.

Cracks from freeze/thaw cycles and burrows created by earthworms, insects, and old roots create a vast network of channels that allow the soil to breathe and roots to grow.

For farms in the Midwest, Northeast, and South, this winter’s freezes could help a lot in restoring healthy soil structure. But we won’t be out of the woods—if it turns out to be a late spring, many farmers could be tempted to run on wet soils. That could spell disaster in the form of soil compaction.

The good news is that—unlike droughts or flooding—you can reduce soil compaction. The keys to prevention are how you operate your equipment and how you select and manage your tires.

We've been studying soil compaction for decades and are pleased to provide a free white paper to help farmers learn how to fight this invisible epidemic.