Vertical Tillage For Sale in New Zealand

There’s much debate among manufacturers in the agricultural equipment industry over the precise definition of vertical tillage, but most industry insiders agree that vertical tillage involves low-impact tilling (generally the top several centimetres) designed to break up compaction layers, cut crop residue and incorporate it into the soil, and level fields to improve the seedbed for planting.

Unlike plows, vertical tillage doesn’t move soil horizontally and leaves at least some crop residue on top of the soil, so it’s often considered a reduced tillage practice. Vertical tillage provides a number of benefits, including improved soil health and water infiltration, quicker soil warmup, less erosion and compaction, and healthier plants because roots can more easily reach nutrients.

Because manufacturers use differing definitions of vertical tillage, you’ll see a range of vertical tillage equipment for sale on TractorHouse.com. In general, vertical tillage implements have a group of coulters or discs with an attachment at the end (a rolling basket, reels, or harrow, for example) to break up clods and level the field. Leading manufacturers include Blu-Jet, Case IH, Degelman, Great Plains, John Deere, Kuhn Krause, Landoll, McFarlane, Salford, Summers, and Sunflower.