Managing soils under dry conditions

The dry conditions during the last two months in Iowa present a challenge in planning for next year\u27s field work, especially if the drought persists. Although it is still a little early to predict rainfall and its capacity to build soil moisture in the soil profile, producers should plan fall tillage carefully. Tillage of the soil surface leads to loss of moisture that may be needed next spring. Soil with surface cracks allows deeper infiltration of rainfall without extra tillage for fracturing the compacted soil surface layer