Do you know the phrase, “there is nothing new under the sun?” It may surprise you, but the practice of tile drainage is one practice that this phrase perfectly applies to. Buried clay pipe for drainage of crop land was discovered on the island of Crete dating back to 5,000 B.C.! Farmers in ancient Egypt and Babylonia drained their farm land, as did the Romans. The Roman author Cato described this in depth in his writings as early as 200 B.C. Some archeologists even have found evidence that the Inca’s and Mayan’s used subsurface drainage.
In 1835 the first tile drainage systems were installed in the United States. By the year 1858 there were 856 acres of land drained in New York City’s Central Park. At this time in tile drainage history, the work was done laboriously with hand tools, but as time went on and people saw the value in drainage there were great advances made. Now instead of digging out areas by hand and using clay piping, we have corrugated plastic tubing that can be relatively easily installed. Are you considering installing drainage tile on your farm? Come to Cornell Cooperative Extensions 2014 Tile Drainage School to learn more!
Photo Credit: John Bennett via Compfight
There are some real benefits to using tile drainage. Having less excess water allows the surface to dry more quickly and uniformly. This allows the soils to warm faster and enables you to plant sooner in the spring. Your crops also have the advantage of developing deeper root systems. These deep roots allow plants to access more nutrients, have a more stable base, and are more drought tolerant than those with shorter or more shallow roots. Because of these advantages crops are generally a better quality than those planted in wet areas. Tile drainage also helps to reduce the amount of water running on the surface of the soil, helping to reduce erosion and run-off of nutrients.
Are you in an area where you are finding you need to delay planting your crop, have a difficult time harvesting, or have low yields because of excess water? You may want to consider installing tile drainage. To help you make the most informed decision, join Cornell Cooperative Extension on November 12, 2014 from 10:00a-3:00p at The Factory in Ballston Spa. At this meeting, you can learn from other farmers who have done a great deal of tile installation, business owners that are installing tile on farms, Cornell University faculty, and representatives from the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The basic process of installing tile drainage on your farm involves using plastic drainage tubing, which are generally installed deeper than two feet. On loams, sandy loams, silt loams, and clay loams in New York the tile is generally installed 4 to 4.5 feet deep. There are many reasons for having the tile installed so deeply, which include providing a deeper rooting zone for plants, allowing the water to be filtered through more soil before it reaches the tile, it is harder to reach with the preferential flow of water through earthworm holes or cracks in soil surface, the tile won’t be harmed by deep tillage, and the it will be protected from the traffic of heavy field equipment.
If you decide to install tile on your farm, take time to consider some key points. When its first being installed make sure you are working with someone that is using the proper design (often parallel lines) for the maximum benefits. Also, because water may be flowing more freely, it’s very important to be aware of your timing of manure or nutrient applications. If possible, apply these amendments when your crop is actively taking them up. Also, when you apply manure make sure to be aware of the outflow of these nutrients and have a plan in case of emergencies. Check the outlet locations when this heavy flow is likely and be ready to discontinue spreading if you find manure breakthrough or turbidity. Incorporating manure at this time is helpful in nitrogen conservation and for odor reduction.
Do you think your farm or crop lands can benefit from tile drainage? Do you find they are wet in the spring, you are delaying planting, getting stuck harvesting, or have low yields on saturated ground? Learn about installations, economic and agronomic benefits, minimizing environmental risks, and ask questions to a panel of industry professionals at the 2014 Tile Drainage School!
Join Cornell Cooperative Extension on November 12th, 2014 at the Factory (20 Prospect Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020). The cost of this meeting is $40.00 per person and includes lunch. Are you looking for Certified Crop Advisor Continuing Education Units? We are offering 3 units in Soil and Water Management! Register online at http://cnydfc.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=157 or by contacting Barb Johnson at (315) 866-7920. Speakers at this event include Allenwaite Farm Inc., with George and Travis Allen; Steve Mahoney the owner of River Bend Farm Agricultural and Environmental Services; Larry Geohring from Cornell University’s Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering; Scott Fitscher, NRCS Conservation Program Manager for Washington and Warren Counties; and David Holck, County Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency in Washington, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Warren Counties. The registration deadline is November 7th, 2014. Space is limited, RSVP today! If you have any questions you can contact Aaron Gabriel at (518) 380-1496 or adg12@cornell.edu, Kevin Ganoe at (315)-219-7786 or khg2@cornell.edu, or Ashley Pierce at (518) 272-4210 or arp253@cornell.edu.
Sources: Cornell Agronomy Fact Sheets 57, 58
North Dakota State University Extension Service
University of Minnesota Extension
The major reason for installing subsurface drainage is to improve the productivity of the farmland. Higher yields translate into more returns. This is especially true in recent years due to higher grain prices. So the investment decision is based on whether the higher crop returns will justify the investment in subsurface drainage.
The main issue is that modern corrugated plastic pipes have, unlike the Cretan clay pipes, slits big enough for soil fractions to get into the pipe eventually clogging it. Also, to be functional, you should have at least 2 to 3% ascent (or descent) which effectively means that, if the initial depth should be a foot under ground, after 100 yards the pipe needs to be at least 2 yards one foot below surface. And then … you need to know where to pump that water to. I recently saw a horse riding area “drained”, all using flat (not angled) piping. They told me that the angle I was proposing was “impractical”. Indeed – now they have pipes in the ground but still the same water, maybe a few voles using these pipes as breeding grounds, who knows.