General consensus by farmers in our area is that tillage warms up the ground early in the spring. In the late 90's early spring soil temperatures were taken across the Palouse, and the result was reported to be only 1-2 degrees.
The October 2015 edition of NO-TILL FARMER (p.2) had a short article on temperature comparisons. A summary of this particular article stated that shortly after planting the soil temperatures moved quickly to the same level whether tilled or untilled. Twelve hours after seeding there was a 5 degree difference. Twenty four hours after seeding there was no difference.
There was no mention whether the no-till was low or high disturbance.
This is potentially good news and we will try and verify using our ultra low disturbance system this coming spring. We have conventional tillage all around us for a good comparison. We do know that surface cover and standing stubble moderates soil temperatures, --both winter cold and summer heat.
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