Trading Your Plow for a CurseBuster

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Arthur, Ontario farmer Carl Brubacker has had it with the plow.

Over the years, Brubacker has seen too much erosion and watched his topsoil layer get thinner and thinner. “We try plowing shallower every year and we just keep bringing up stones.”

Brubacker says plowing is not going to work long-term. “We’re looking for simplicity and convenience as well as long-term soil health.” So what’s the answer to Brubacker’s tillage troubles?

He has his money riding on the CurseBuster, produced by Indiana-based Soil Regeneration Unlimited. In this video, he shares his Cursebuster experience with Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson.

 

Brubacker says running the CurseBuster across the field – the opposite way of the combine – helps to eliminate combine compaction. The machine features two rows of tines – the first fractures the soil in one direction and the second tine hits the same hole and fractures the soil in the opposite direction. Harrows at the back help to level the field and create a nice firm seedbed.

Johnson, well known for his commitment to no-till, admits he’s impressed with the Cursebuster’s work. “Lots of people would say it’s a new style AerWay, but there are some really significant differences. The hub does roll on the ground and the teeth do actually follow each other into the ground. You have to be happy with the soil surface and that nice firm seedbed.”

Brubacker says the 15-foot machine required 200 hp of pulling power. He runs at 7 to 8 mph in a two-pass system – one in the fall and a second in the spring.

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