Dealers 
Sales portal What is a chisel plow sweep?
A chisel plow is a primary tillage tool that pulls a row of narrow shanks through the soil, loosening and lifting it without turning it over. The shank is the steel leg that enters the ground, and most of the residue stays on the surface.
Why it matters on the Prairies
The residue a chisel plow leaves on top holds topsoil in place over winter and keeps moisture in the ground in spring. It is also why chisel work counts as conservation tillage.
Because a chisel plow can work deeper than a disc or vertical tillage tool, it is used to fracture a compaction layer near its working depth. It will not break compaction that sits deeper than the depth you set the shanks to run.
How producers handle it
Chisel plowing is typically a fall pass in primary tillage, followed by a lighter tillage or harrow pass in spring. It can leave a rough seedbed, so that finishing pass is common.
Timing comes down to the soil. Do not chisel moist or wet ground, because it compacts and smears instead of fracturing.
Know what lies below your working depth before you set the shanks down. Going deep should not bring salts, rocks or carbonates up to the surface.
Equipment that fits
The Mandako Chisel Flex is our chisel plow for primary tillage, built in Plum Coulee in five widths from 40′ to 65′. It runs 1-1/4″ x 2″ HD shanks on 12″ spacing, each with 800+ lbs of trip, so a rock lifts one shank and the rest keep working. Depth sets mechanically from 1″ to 6″, and the flex frame lets the shanks at the wing ends cut the same depth as the center on rolling ground. A 3-Row or 4-Row HD Tine Harrow is optional and mounts behind the shanks, so residue is levelled in a single pass with the tillage.
