What a miserable, wet harvest season we’re had, especially compared to last year.

And while crops are slowly coming off, two big questions inevitably pop up; “What do I do with rutted fields?” and “Is it too late to plant cover crops?”

When it comes to rutted fields, the first inclination is to break out the tillage equipment and smooth everything out.

While that may be the quick fix, it’s not best long term. In fact, in long term no-till, doing nothing may be the better course of action.

Depending on the severity of the ruts, a good freeze and thaw cycle will likely remove surface smearing. No-till soils are more resilient that you might think and can rebound from surface compaction fairly well. Keep in mind: the majority of the compaction we’re dealing with is surface compaction.

Chisel plowing or deep ripping are overkill for fields that may have 2 to 4 inches of compaction.

Another knock against spring tillage for surface compaction is soil moisture. Let’s remember what’s going on; we have a saturated sponge that has been compressed while saturated, which means it’s going to be slower to dry out in the spring. If we perform a tillage operation when our subsoils are not ideal, we have a greater likelihood of creating sidewall compaction and a plow pan at depth further exacerbating the problem we tried to alleviate.

Cover crops are the ideal solution for surface compaction — the fibrous roots are great for loosening up compacted soils. Although if you plant a cover crop late in the year you may not get much fall growth for erosion protection, that does not mean you should not plant one.

I have heard this statement a lot lately: “Well it is not worth it planting this late.”

There are many other benefits to late planted covers, such as all the growth they will give you in the spring from mid-March to mid-May.

If you let that cover grow and either plant green or terminate late, rye and the other winter grains will start growing at 40 degrees in the spring.

When that plant is growing, it is feeding soil microbes (which improve your nutrient cycling), it is taking up excess nitrogen sitting in your soil that may be leached away, and it is growing a large root system.

It is really difficult for a cover crop to grow and improve your soils when it is safe and sound in the bag, bin, or truck in the shed. The perfect time to plant a cover is just after harvest.

Are you concerned about corn stalks breaking down and the need to size residue? Try no-till drilling rye into the stalks. You will size the corn residue and get a live cover growing to benefit your microbes and soils.

By feeding the soil microbes you will enable them to help you break down that corn residue even faster and provide for a better seed bed in the spring.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.