Abstract: Numerous geometrically ordered micro-basins can be formed in the soil surface layer during tillage operation. Micro-topography preparation aims to collect and hold water in place during rainfall, thus allowing it to infiltrate into the soil. Consequently, the surface runoff can be reduced to mitigate the erosion of the high water infiltration rate. Among them, the shovel-type rolling component has been typical soil-engaging equipment used for micro-topography preparation. This equipment is assembled with a series of peripheral shovel blades that circumscribe the rolling wheel. There are some arrays of consolidated discrete and small micro-basins, when hauling and rolling across the soil surface. Accordingly, the farming land can be restructured to prepare the desired form for the soil surface area in contact with water. The water-holding capacity of the prepared micro-basin can often be used to evaluate the performance of micro-topography preparation under shovel-type rolling components, together with the forward resistance against the soil. This is because the shape and capacity of micro-basins can be required for superior performance during run-off collecting, particularly for the applicability, workability, and effectiveness of soil imprinting. In addition, there is the inevitable reduction of the tillage resistance in the hilly sloping farmland of southwest China, due to the limited traction power of tractors. It is a high demand to design the effective shovel-type rolling component. Fortunately, the computational simulation can be expected to serve as an effective approach in this case. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic investigation to explore the interaction mechanism between the shovel-type rolling component and soil for the micro-topography preparation. Taking the shovel-type rolling component as an object of research, a discrete element model was proposed to investigate the interaction between the rolling component and soil using coupled Discrete Element and Multibody (DEM-MBD). Firstly, the classical mechanics’ derivation and computer simulation were integrated to establish the theoretical interaction model between the soil and rolling components. Then, the model was improved after the experimental measurement. Secondly, the optimal theoretical model was selected to guide the design practice. Thirdly, the working mechanism of the rolling component was further optimized using the coupled EDEM-RecurDyn software simulation. Specifically, the horizontal resistance and volume of the micro-basins were then determined, where the operating speeds of the rolling component (0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 m/s) were the experimental factors. Finally, the accuracy of the simulation model was verified by the field experiments. The simulation results showed that there was an increase in the horizontal resistance in the x-axis direction, and the vertical force in the z-axis direction with the increase in the operating speed. The volumes of micro-basin that formed on the soil surface were 3 310.91, 3 325.96, and 3 384.47 mL, respectively, after the operation of the rolling component at the speeds of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 m/s, respectively. The formation mechanism of soil micromorphology during the operation was clarified via the soil compression force, particle flow direction, and kinetic energy. A comparison was also made between the bench test and the simulated one. Specifically, the relative errors between computational and measured horizontal resistance were 5.02%, 4.59%, and 4.11%, respectively. The relative errors in water-holding capacity of micro-basin were 6.23%, 7.09%, and 5.64%, respectively. It infers the higher reliability of the improved EDM-MBD coupled model than before. Consequently, the DEM-MBD coupling model can provide theoretical and technological references to explore the interaction between the shovel-type rolling component and soil, in order to optimize the geometric structure of the shovel blade of this component for the ideal operating parameters.