Tile Drainage for Dummies

Why should land be tiled?

There are many arguments for the question of why a field should be tiled. Most think it is only useful in wet years, when an abundance of moisture makes fieldwork impossible. The benefit of tile extends to both dry and wet times; draining surplus moisture in the soil helps prevent compaction caused by water with no place to go when it is muddy. Compaction areas are caused not only by machinery traffic, but also by the water itself laying in the subsurface. Draining the soil allows more oxygen below the surface, which helps in root growth during dry times. It also encourages root growth as small channels formed by the water leaching into the tile can provide an avenue for roots to grow to the lower water table during dry weather.

This subject is vast and full of argumentative theory. A full discussion could fill many pages. To condense the subject, the Overholt School of drainage quotes a 20 year study by Ohio State University showing Ohio soils that are tiled having a 62 bushel per acre average increase in corn yields. Since 60% of Ohio farmland is tiled, that is a pretty impressive argument in favor of tile drainage.

What equipment is used in tile drainage?

There are many ways to successfully perform underground drainage using plastic tile. Many farmers choose to purchase a tile plow or used trencher and do the job during spare time after harvest. There are various tools to accomplish this task, from used wheel trenchers and chain trenchers to tile plows pulled by agricultural tractors.

The modern tractor-pulled tile plow is gaining popularity in many areas, as it can use power already available on the farm. The most important addition (some say it is essential) to a tractor-pulled plow is the automatically controlled laser system. A popular tile plow with complete laser controls quoted around $18,000. Just buying the tile plow and laser controls is not the only expense, as a tile trailer to string out the tile is important as well. Few of us want to unroll field tile by hand. Renting or purchasing a backhoe is also necessary, as you must dig the beginning of a tile run or tile outlet before the plow begins to do the work of laying the tile.

Many farmers feel these expenses can be justified, as when their land is drained, they can either sell the equipment, or use it for custom tiling on neighbor's farms.

What if you feel like you don't have the time to install tile yourself?

There are several very competent and trained drainage tile contractors. When interviewing prospective contractors, ask lots of questions and inquire about references from people who have experience with those contractors. Installing tile is very critical; farmers could waste a lot of money if they or the contractor do not have the tools to maintain the good grade necessary for gravity to lead the absorbed water out to the tile outlet. Choosing the wrong contractor with inadequate equipment just because of a lower quoted price for installation could provide for a worthless system if the contractor makes mistakes in the installation.

The contractor we chose for our project had many innovations to speed his work and assure a good job of maintaining grade. Frey Excavating, from Farmersburg, Indiana, is a third generation operation. Joe Frey and his son Mike head the operation, with Joe providing years of experience and Mike some great innovative ideas for improvements in machinery.

The crew I employed worked like fine meshed gears. Everyone knew what to do, anticipated the next step, and did not have to be told what to do. Watching this crew was a pleasure. One could see a problem developing, and, without a word, additional people would move to the area to complete each task with efficiency. Working with this efficiency allowed them to lay almost 40 acres per day, including plowing mains (a more time consuming chore) and survey work.

The Wolfe tile plow was the main machine, quoted at around $300,000 purchase price (above left). Laser controls on the machine controlled the grade automatically (above right). Two tile boots were used on the machine, one for 4" to 6" tile, and a larger one for 8" to 12" tile. This contractor also has a wheel machine for installing mains in difficult areas and previously tiled fields, as it shows what is below the surface as it cuts the trench, preventing possible future problems. Previous tile must be plugged when new tile is installed over it, or it causes the field not to drain properly.

Two very helpful inventions by these competent and innovative tile contractors were the self-designed tile stringer truck (above left) and the Polaris 6X6 survey unit (above right).

We have now completed our project; I learned much in the process.  There is much work to be completed in this attempt to share our experience this summer and fall, but the Web page shows many pictures of the equipment.

Where can I go to get answers from experts on tile drainage?

For a list of drainage experts from the university of Illinois, click on this link