Reveal Residue Management Soybean Study

Key Points

Objective: This study evaluates the yield and economic benefit of Reveal frame-mounted row cleaners in a soybean after corn conventional tillage environment.
Yield Gains: In 2023, the Reveal residue management system set at 10 PSI resulted in positive yield gains in all settings, averaging +2.96 Bu/A. When running no residue management system, there was a loss of 2.7 Bu/A resulting in an economic loss of -$35.34/A. Running a residue management system in the floating position resulted in an economic loss of -$31.42/A.
Economic Advantage: When we average the past three years, Reveal set at 20 PSI had an average economic advantage of $32.89/A over no residue management system and $13.51/A over a floating residue management system.

Residue management is a necessary part of a grower’s operation in order to maximize profitability. Tougher stalks and more corn-on-corn acres mean a heavier load of residue that needs to be controlled.

When we don’t manage residue appropriately, the residue in the seed trench will compete with seedlings for moisture and can harbor diseases. Our answer to this issue? Reveal. Reveal is frame-mounted, so unlike other row cleaners, it gets rid of that row unit chatter. It has an internal gauge wheel that precisely controls the depth of the cleaning tines. It also has an airbag that makes sure the depth that it’s set at stays consistent. The pressure of the airbag can be controlled on the 20|20 Monitor or utilizing a manual controller in the cab.

In this agronomic study, we compared the absence of row cleaners and floating row cleaners to that of Reveal at the following notch and PSI settings:

Reveal Notch 1 10# Down
Reveal Notch 1 20# Down
Reveal Notch 1 30# Down
Reveal Notch 1 40# Down

What we found in 2023 was that the Reveal residue management system resulted in positive yield gains in some settings, averaging +0.34 Bu/A compared to the absence of row cleaners. Yield response varied from -1.2 to +2.7 Bu/A with 10 PSI settings proving the highest yield at +2.7 Bu/A. Finding the correct settings is crucial because a yield gain of +2.7 Bu/A by using the correct residue management setting would result in increased farm revenue of $35.34/A, proving to be a core principle of planting that a grower should not overlook.

Yield results of no residue manager compared to various Reveal settings in 2023 at the PTI Farm

Looking at the same data the other way around, when running no residue management system, there was a loss of -2.7 Bu/A resulting in an economic loss of -$35.34/A. Running a residue management system in the floating position resulted in an economic loss of -$31.42/A. Additionally, running your residue management system on too heavy of a setting can have a drastic impact on yield, causing losses from -$15.71/A to -$57.60/A.

Economic results of no residue manager compared to various Reveal settings in 2023 at the PTI Farm

Averaging three years of this study, we found that Reveal set at 20 PSI down held the economic advantage of $32.89/A over no residue management system and a $13.51/A advantage over a floating residue management system.