gets its name from the fact that all of the plow's discs are set on the same axle at the same vertical angle. This arrangement allows the device to plow faster, handle heavy stubble well, break hard sun-baked soil, and destroy weeds. It was invented by Charles Angell, Sr., of Plains, Kansas, in the 1920's.

Farmers had traditionally treated stubble as a nuisance to be rid of by plowing under or burning. Angell, however, saw a way to use the stubble for the advantage of dryland farmers. Instead of completely burying the stubble as previous plows had done, the one-way incorporated the stubble into the upper layer of the topsoil to serve as a mulch and help conserve moisture and reduce erosion by wind and winter.

The one-way disc plow became the most commonly used tillage implement on the plains from the 1930's through the 1960's. Angell built about 500 of the plows on his Kansas farm, before selling the rights to the Ohio Cultivator Company.

"Charlie Angell, Sr. and His One-Way Disc Plow." A Kansas Portrait. Kansas State Historical Society, 2001. www.kshs.org/portraits/angell_charlie.htm

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This page was last updated on 05/09/2011.