United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Montana Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content




Fuel Savings

The Strip Till Study on Sugar Beets at Sidney uses six conventional tillage operations before planting versus one operation for the strip till before planting. The field operations and fuel requirements for each are shown in the table below. The fuel, machinery and labor requirements for each implement listed were obtained from producers in the Sidney area using farm-sized implements common to the area.

Table 1. Fuel Use for Various Tillage Operations with a Chisel Plow as the First Conventional Tillage Operation
Tillage System Type of Implement Fuel Use (Gallons/Acre)
Conventional Tillage Chisel Plow .36
Mulcher .27
Mulcher .27
Level .70
Level .70
Cultivator with rolling baskets .80
Total Fuel Usage 3.1
Strip Till Operations Ripping Shank with Packer 2.0
Total Fuel Usage 2.0

Fuel Savings is 1.1 Gallons per Acre.

If diesel is valued at $2.70 per gallon the savings in diesel are $2.97 per acre.

Other producers use a moldboard plow rather than a chisel plow for their seedbed preparation. Their fuel requirements for seedbed preparation are shown in the table below.

Table 2. Fuel Use for Various Tillage Operations with a Moldboard Plow as the First Conventional Tillage Operation
Tillage System Type of Implement Fuel Use (Gallons/Acre)
Conventional Tillage Moldboard Plow 2.5
Mulcher .27
Mulcher .27
Level .70
Level .70
Harrow .16
Total Fuel Usage 4.6
Strip Till Ripping Shank with Packer 2.0
Total Fuel Usage 2.0

Fuel Savings is 2.6 Gallons per Acre.

If diesel is valued at $2.70 per gallon the savings in diesel are $7.02 per acre.

< Back to Energy Conservation on Irrigated Land in Eastern Montana

Last Modified: 11/06/2007