The practice preserves enough moisture to allow him to skip the fallow season in alternate years when there is sufficient soil moisture. Fallow weed management starts in April with the chisel plow. This time he outfits it with 16-inch sweeps on the curved, solid shanks that run 1 foot apart. He runs the sweeps 4 to 6 inches deep, the same depth as the fall passes with the chisel points. I travel about six miles per hour when I m chiseling.
Higher speed makes the sweeps harder to keep in the ground and harder to drive straight.
Plus it s harder on equipment. He comes back to the fallow fields with the tool when weeds rebound in June, then again in late August or early September. Some seasons take as many as four passes. Smith knocks down the weeds while keeping all the residue he can on the surface. He raises the sweeps about an inch each time to bring the subsoil moisture zone closer to the surface in anticipation of fall wheat planting.