I've had a few calls this spring from farmers expressing a serious plugging problem when direct seeding their chem fallow fields. Initially, they had left very tall stubble when straight combining - about 12 to 16 inches tall in order to trap snow and to minimize the erosion potential. This worked very well until they came to seed the fields. Plugging of the air drills or air seeders occurred immediately, even on 10 and 12-inch row spacing (and with C-shanks). Although these seeders would not have had a problem seeding through stubble this tall if it was stubble from last harvest; chem fallow stubble is a different matter. During the fallow year, chem fallow stubble begins to rot or break down the most at a point where the stubble meets the soil. Although the stubble is still standing and will trap snow during the winter, when a seeder tries to go through this stubble, it tends to break off at the level of the soil. If the stubble is quite tall, the seeding implement suddenly becomes a rather efficient rake, which will try the patience of the most religious farmer. If the chem fallow stubble is short, plugging problems become significantly reduced. Therefore, when planning to include chem fallow in your rotation, some planning ahead can reduce the stress levels at seeding time considerably. This is most easily accomplished at the time of combining or swathing. Simply cut the stubble that will be left for chem fallow no taller than the row spacing of your seeding implement or even a bit shorter. This will allow the seeding tool to pass through this stubble with minimal plugging problems. If a farmer uses or has access to a disc-type direct seeding implement, this problem does not occur. However, if using a C-shank type of seeder, a little planning ahead saves a lot of frustration.