Can Graded Furrows
Outperform Terraces?
Graded furrow systems outperform terraced systems.
Clarence W. Richardson, agricultural engineer at the ARS
Blackland Research Center, Temple, Tex', found this to be
true in research comparing runoff, soil loss, and farm tillage
efficiencies. His studies were conducted- on field-size plots
comparing a graded furrow system and a comparable area
utilizing a standard terrace system.
With the introduction of mechanized farming methods,
terracing, the traditional technique for controlling soil
erosion, has been found unsatifactory due to the difficulty of
employing present-day farm equipment to work these fields.
Richardson’s project was based on a 3-year crop rotation of
cotton, grain sorghum, and oats. The graded furrow system
was constructed on an 11-acre site near Riesel, Texas.
Each furrow was designed to carry only the runoff that
originated on the furrow iteself, therefore runoff from out
side sources would overtax the furrow capacity and overtop
the ridge of the furrow. For this reason diversion channels
were constructed above the top furrow of the field to convey
the runoff from the ungraded area above the graded furrow
field to a separate waterway.
During the test period there were 28 runoff-producing
storms. The average annual rainfall during the project was
32.76 inches.
Runoff from the terraced watershed (TW) generally ex
ceeded that from the graded furrow watershed (GFW)
during most storms. Reduced runoff on the GFW was
probably due to more unifrom distribution of excess water on
the GFW than on the TW, where the excess water was con-
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centrated in the terrace channels.
Although erosion was minor on both watersheds, it was
generally greater in the GFW than the TW, except during
small runoff-producing storms. During the 3-yeard period the
GFW averaged 1.38 tons of soil erosion per acre, whereas the
TW averaged 1.09 tons per acre.
The design of the graded furrow system was put to a severe
test during an intense storm when a total of 4.42 inches of rain
fell, with 1.06 inches falling within 20 minutes. This storm
caused extensive inter-terrace erosion and sediment
deposition in terrace channels. The graded furrow system,
however, conveyed runoff rainwater into the drainage
waterway without over-topping the ridges or causing serious
erosion problems
On the average, the GFW tillage rate was 21 percent faster
than the TW. Only the 1969 seedbed preparation and cotton
harvest tasks were accomplished more quickly in the
terraced area. This was due partially to additional initial bed
preparation and poorly adapted machinery in the graded
furrow area.
Fewer turns on the long parallel rows in the GFW area, as
compared to the many point rows in the TW area, resulted in
faster tillage of the fields. Also, the time-consuming tasks of
maintaining terrace channels and ridges were eliminated
with the graded furrow system.
Frey Holstein Has
Outstanding Record
Another official production
record exceeding a half ton
of butterfat has been com
pleted by Fultonway
Crisscross Regina 6334755
(VG), a Registered Holstein
cow owned by J. Mowery
Frey & Son, Lancaster. This
is the third time that
“Regina” has achieved the
1,000 lb. butterfat production
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L. H. Brubaker
Lancaster, Pa.
Roy H. Buch, Inc.
Pennsylvania State
University supervised the
weighing and sample testing
of her production in
cooperation with the Dairy
Herd Improvement Registry
program of the Holstein-
Friesian Association of
I America.
Ephrata, R.D.2
level in a single lactation.
This record ranks among
4,300 similarly completed by
Registered Holstein cows on
official test.
The Pennsylvania
Holstein’s official record of
production totalled 20,374
lbs. of milk and 1,030 lbs. of
butterfat in 365 days. She
started her lactation at the
age of 7 years 11 months and
was milked two times daily.
Fultonway Crisscross
Regina Was bred in the Frey
herd. She was sired by Gray
View Crisscross 1378594
(EK), a bull that has earned
Gold Metal Sire recognition.
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