Today's heavier farm equipment can mean some farmers could see more of a problem with soil compaction.

Saskatchewan Agriculture's Regional Crop Specialist, John Ippolito, says a lot of producers think only about the top three to five inches in regards to soil compaction.

"There is research dating back as far as the 50's that would indicate once we get axel weights over 10,000 pounds, we could get compaction as far down in the soil profile as 18 to 24 inches."

Ippolito adds that ensuring tires are topped up can help as well.

"Some people are moving to tract implements to try to spread out the footprint. Even things as simple as maintaining appropriate tire pressure does help with compaction."

One technique that has helped farmers with soil compaction in Australia, and is being tried in some Alberta areas, is controlled traffic farming, where all the implements are run in the same tire tracks.