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“I think it's a good process to put fertilizer around with the planter, but I've always been a believer when it's time to plant corn, that's what you should be doing.”
— Dean Fehl
In this week’s Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by the Pluribus Lite from Dawn Equipment, editor Frank Lessiter speaks with early strip-till adopter Dean Fehl about how he got started strip tilling, his current role as a retiree helping his sons work the family farm, and more.
Fehl’s idea of no-tilling soybeans and strip-tilling corn was passed on to his sons, Ben and Brandt Fehl, who have expanded the farm operation and continue the practice.
Listen in as Frank and Dean cover the basics of his son’s operation, conditions on the ground today, and his steps into conservation tillage practices.
The Strip-Till Farmer podcast is brought to you by Dawn Equipment.
Dawn Equipment, a family-owned company in Sycamore, Illinois, has a reputation for responsive customer service and American-made quality products that goes back to its origin nearly 3 decades. The company has grown to more than 40 employees and numerous products, earned awards for innovative design plus a growing number of patents, but it has not lost its commitment to U.S. made products. And customers and dealers can still call to speak directly with sales and engineering staff. Dawn has redefined several market segments like strip-till and active hydraulic control of planter and attachments. Dawn was the first company to make a remotely controllable planting product. Dawn continues its commitment to innovation, to customer service, and to active response to the changing needs of America’s farmers. Visit them at www.dawnequipment.com.
Full Transcript
Noah Newman:
Hello and welcome to the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by the Pluribus Lite from Dawn Equipment. Special message from them coming later in the podcast. My name is Noah Newman, Associate Editor. Not going to be doing a lot of talking today, because in today's episode, the one and only Frank Lessiter talks to Dean Fehl, an early adopter of strip tilling at his farm in La Porte City, Iowa. Jumping right into the conversation, here's Frank and Dean.
Frank Lessiter:
Dean, you're at La Porte City, Iowa, correct?
Dean Fehl:
That is correct.
Frank Lessiter:
And where is that in Iowa?
Dean Fehl:
Those familiar with Iowa at all, we're approximately 20 miles southeast of Waterloo.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. And what kind of soils have you got in that area? What are you farming?
Dean Fehl:
Yeah, we have primarily silty clay, loams, CSRs, in the 85 to 95 range primarily.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. Did you grow up in this area?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, I did. I've been here my entire life.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. Was your dad a farmer?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, he was.
Frank Lessiter:
All right. And now you're farming with the boys, two boys?
Dean Fehl:
Yeah. Well, I am currently retired. I turned the operation over about five years ago to the boys. I'm kind of a sideline farmer, so to speak.
Frank Lessiter:
Speak. Okay. And their names are what?
Dean Fehl:
Ben and Brand.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. And how many acres are there that three of you farming today?
Dean Fehl:
I cannot honestly answer that, Frank. I know they've had some expansion several years back, and to what those acres are, I've never added them up.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. But you're a big acreage farmer, I take it, right? I mean you're over 2000 acres.
Dean Fehl:
Oh, yes. Yeah, I know they're over 2000.
Frank Lessiter:
And mainly corn and soybeans or other crops?
Dean Fehl:
Corn and soybeans.
Frank Lessiter:
All right. You're strip tilling corn. What are you doing with soybeans?
Dean Fehl:
We're no-tilling the soybeans with the corn stocks.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. I assume you got started with no-tilling. How long ago did you start no-tilling?
Dean Fehl:
Well, I started experimenting in the mid-1980s. I had a few stumbling blocks, and then in 1986, I believe it was, I purchased my first no-till drill for soybeans. And then it was long about that time Jim Consalo from Illinois started the strip till program and I got involved in that. And in a nutshell, that's where we started and we're still on that program today.
Frank Lessiter:
Were you no-tilling corn before that or not?
Dean Fehl:
I had done some experimentation, was not liking the results, but as soon as I started the strip till program, it just exploded and I never looked back.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. What were some of the benefits of strip tilling corn that you saw in those days?
Dean Fehl:
Well, I felt as though we had a drier, warmer seed bed, some plant planting time. I felt as though that was really beneficial to getting the corn up and running on for a good start.
Frank Lessiter:
Have the boys looked at all at strip towing soybeans?
Dean Fehl:
I really don't think so. They're narrow rows for the soybeans, so as a result, that really doesn't fit the scenario of strip tilling.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. What row width do they have for beans?
Dean Fehl:
They're currently 15-inch rows.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. Let's talk about a little of the equipment that you have. What's your no-till planter? You got more than one planter, I think. Are you using the same planter for both no-till and soybeans?
Dean Fehl:
Actually, yes and no. Current, the boys have one 24-row they used primarily for planting corn, and the other one is set up to plant the soybeans in the 15-inch rows. A few years ago, they did plant a few 30-inch row soybeans, but primarily when they start planting, one starts planting corn, the other one starts in beans. I know this last year or two they've not deviated from the 30-inch corn and the 15-inch row.
Frank Lessiter:
That was my next question. What row width were you in corn? But you answered it for 30-inch.
Dean Fehl:
Correct.
Frank Lessiter:
How did you make the decision to move away from the drill to a planter on soybeans?
Dean Fehl:
The very first drill I had was kind of inadequate. I had nothing but plugging problems with that first drill. Could not wait to get rid of it. And then I went to a 15-inch row Kinze planter and I like the better seed depth control that the drill had to offer.
Frank Lessiter:
What kind of planters are they running now?
Dean Fehl:
Currently, they have two John Deere planters.
Frank Lessiter:
And then does the family own a lot of this land? You rent land? I assume you do. You got both, right?
Dean Fehl:
Some of both, yes.
Frank Lessiter:
You say you're kind of retired, but you also told me in an earlier phone call that they can't get along without you at planning time or at harvest time. Right?
Dean Fehl:
Well, I'm not sure I said it quite that way. I like to think that I've needed... I do run the sprayer in the spring and run one of the combines during harvest. That's kind of my fit into the operation as we speak.
Frank Lessiter:
It's interesting that one of the boys runs the soybean planter and the other runs the corn planter. How did you decide that they should be both planted at the same time? I mean, a lot of people plant corn first and then soybeans, but now we've got people saying we should plant soybeans first to then corn. But the boys must have realized there's benefit to getting them both in early.
Dean Fehl:
Yeah, that's correct, Frank. I think they're finding some advantages to get in the field when conditions are fit and rock and roll. I think that's bottom line. Get her in the ground when you can.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. The sprayer that you run in the spring, self-propelled unit or what?
Dean Fehl:
Oh, yeah. It's a large John Deere with 120-foot boom and all the bells and whistles. The exact supply system, which is an awesome system, the efficiency is just out of this world. That's what the boys are using for a sprayer currently.
Frank Lessiter:
Even an older guy like you or I could run it, huh?
Dean Fehl:
Well, yeah. You push a couple buttons that they already have programmed for me and send me to a field and away we go. The auto steer kicks in, does its job, and everybody's happy.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Let's talk about no-till soybeans. Got any idea what rate they like to plant at or is it vary or what?
Dean Fehl:
Yeah, they do some variability in their planting population, and I think that's a little bit variety sensitive. I really cannot address exactly what their population average would even be because I honestly do not know.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Fertilizing, they fertilize soybeans?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, they do.
Frank Lessiter:
What do they put on
Dean Fehl:
Dry P and K. I think there's odd times maybe when they use some micronutrients maybe as needed, but again, I do not know the details.
Frank Lessiter:
Sure. Have they tried any of the new biologicals? They seem to be hot these days among growers.
Dean Fehl:
To my knowledge, no, but that could be bad information, Frank.
Frank Lessiter:
Well, people are trying them but then other people are going to say, "Wait and see. It's too early." Remember years back when we referred to them as snake oil products.
Dean Fehl:
Exactly.
Frank Lessiter:
Weed control in soybeans, will they hit the field before they plant or wait or what?
Dean Fehl:
Some of both. Generally, there's burned down ahead of both corn and soybeans, and that varies a little bit based on maybe a field that has a particular issue with particular weed pressure, but there's some pre and post on every acre.
Frank Lessiter:
Will they come back in mid-season and make an application or not?
Dean Fehl:
If necessary, they will.
Frank Lessiter:
Only if they have to? Right. Got it. Applying insecticides?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, they've been managing their insects in a timely manner.
Frank Lessiter:
I pulled up on our website a couple older articles we had done with you, and that one time you were very, very high on fungicides. Is that still true?
Dean Fehl:
That is correct.
Frank Lessiter:
Did they try to apply fungicides on every acre or...?
Dean Fehl:
To my knowledge, yes.
Frank Lessiter:
On both corn and soybeans?
Dean Fehl:
I believe that's correct.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. Let's go to the fall. I assume you got two combines.
Dean Fehl:
Correct.
Frank Lessiter:
And you run one, are you a soybean or a corn guy?
Dean Fehl:
Yes. Generally, in one of the soybean combines all of the time. And we've had a few issues with down corn due to some wind damage. Sometimes I'm in the corn combine a hundred percent and sometimes I'm not, but last year for example, I probably ran 95% of the corn with one machine. We had standing corn, fortunately, a year ago and by large I was in the machine every day.
Frank Lessiter:
Were you in the area that got hit by the Decorah in Iowa or not?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, we were. We were kind of on the edge, but yet it affected us in a very negative manner, where we harvested using two combines. Numerous fields were harvested in one direction and it was ugly, but we were much better off than so many of those poor farmers that disced up their crop because there was no harvesting to it.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. What do you think the yield loss was for you people on those problem field?
Dean Fehl:
That's a moving target, Frank. You never really can define or I've never been able to really define the difference. If we had completed a proper growing season, yes, there's definitely a loss. The plants are injured and they're not performing up to their potential and just the harvest losses in and of itself. You do your best, but sometimes that's not quite good enough.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Looking at harvest, you've planted the corn and soybeans at the same time. Will soybeans ripen earlier than corn for you people or both at the same time?
Dean Fehl:
Generally, we get the soybeans harvested first, but on the flip side, we do switch back and forth depending on the weather. In some years, we may harvest a fair amount of corn before the beans are ready. Every year's a little bit different for us.
Frank Lessiter:
Mm-hmm. Right. What growing season varieties would you have on soybeans? How many days or whatever?
Dean Fehl:
They're primarily mid group two, I believe, and maybe a few acres of early group threes. That would be their primary [inaudible 00:12:23] would go those maturities.
Frank Lessiter:
How about days on corn hybrids?
Dean Fehl:
I think they kind of surround themselves with 110 to 115-day corn.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah, okay. Years ago, we did an article on you, which you said you's got to plant slow. Do you still believe in that? The boys still believe in that?
Dean Fehl:
Yes and no. They have one of the new high speed planters for corn. In this past season, this growing season, was the first year for that and I was quite impressed with what I saw, but we'll know more come harvest.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. When you're taking these soybeans off earlier, I assume that's ground where you're going to strip till the next year. Are they building berms in the fall?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, they are. They try to get all their strips done in the fall.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. When you got two people on the combine, do you have somebody else building strips or not?
Dean Fehl:
Not til right at the end of season and it depends on what the calendar says when we're trying to complete harvest. I think it was a couple years ago. Yeah, they actually started stripping before the corn combine was completed. Going into this season, they now have two strip till units, which will facilitate of course getting that job done a little quicker. I honestly don't know what their plan is for this year. I can only imagine it's going to be weather dependent.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. What strip till units are they running and how many rows on each?
Dean Fehl:
Currently, I believe they're going to be running one 16-row and one 12-row.
Frank Lessiter:
They're building themselves or they bought the units or what?
Dean Fehl:
No, they bought the units.
Frank Lessiter:
What brand are they?
Dean Fehl:
They're actually the Krause units.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay, the Kuhn Krause ones?
Dean Fehl:
Yes.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. Okay. All right. How tall do they try to build berms in the fall?
Dean Fehl:
I think that's a little bit relevant to the soil texture come fall. Sometimes you don't change depths and you go from one field to another. You might get a two-inch berm, you might get a four inch berm. Mother nature has a tendency to control that a little bit near as I can tell.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Are they putting down P and K in the fall?
Dean Fehl:
Sometimes, yes. And again, I think that's based on soil tests, whether they do or whether they don't.
Frank Lessiter:
When they come back in the spring to plant on strip till corn, will they put on all the fertilizer with the planter or they make some other trips in the spring?
Dean Fehl:
No, they have no fertilizer attachments on the planter.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. When will they apply fertilizer in the spring and how?
Dean Fehl:
Well, generally that's all done in the fall or on frozen ground in the winter time, in general.
Frank Lessiter:
If you're putting it on in the winter, you would be broadcasting that?
Dean Fehl:
Correct.
Frank Lessiter:
How about nitrogen that they need for corn?
Dean Fehl:
Well, that'll all go on with the strips.
Frank Lessiter:
In the fall?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, with anhydrous ammonia
Frank Lessiter:
They got this corn stripped in the spring and so they're not coming back in mid-season with any fertilizer?
Dean Fehl:
To my knowledge, no.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. But you're probably going to make a spray trip with for weed control and disease and insects or not?
Dean Fehl:
Yes.
Noah Newman:
Let's burn a quick time out back to Dean and Frank in a moment. But first let's thank our sponsor, Pluribus Lite from Dawn Equipment. Dawn is bringing today's innovative farmers a new strip till product from the Regenerative Ag focused underground agriculture brand. The Pluribus Lite is priced like a strip freshener, but it offers the features and performance to be used in the fall or spring as a primary strip tiller or strip freshener. Check out the Pluribus Lite at dawnequipment.com. Now, back to the conversation. Here's Frank and Dean.
Frank Lessiter:
One of the questions I like to ask is, if you got somebody that's got 3,000 acres and they got a sprayer, maybe they're putting 8,000 or 9,000 acres on sprayer per year. I assume, on the average, you would be making more than one trip across your acres, maybe two?
Dean Fehl:
Yeah, generally two-plus.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. That's what I was leading to. Have they looked at cover crops at all?
Dean Fehl:
Oh, yes. They do some cover crop, I would guess, on... Oh, I don't even know what percentage. Maybe 20% of their land.
Frank Lessiter:
This would probably go on ground. It's been in corn harvested?
Dean Fehl:
Sometimes corn, sometimes soybeans, some years both.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. How do they decide where they're using cover crops?
Dean Fehl:
They have one landowner that's adamant that he wants cover crop, so-
Frank Lessiter:
There's a good reason.
Dean Fehl:
There's just no question on those particular acres. And some of their other fields, I think, maybe some fields that roll a little bit more, just maybe trying to help the erosion potential. Although we've been a no-till for so long, our erosion is just about zero.
Frank Lessiter:
How do they apply the cover crops?
Dean Fehl:
Generally, aerial application.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay. They're using just one cover crop or using a mix or what?
Dean Fehl:
They've used multiple mixes and I cannot honestly tell you what all are in those particular blends. I do not know.
Frank Lessiter:
Well, it's like some guys today are using as many as 15 blends.
Dean Fehl:
Oh my.
Frank Lessiter:
And then you'll get some guy that's got 10 bushel volts sitting around. They just toss it in there to get rid of them.
Dean Fehl:
There you go.
Frank Lessiter:
A lot of people have not been happy with seeding cover crops with aerial. The boys must figure they're making it work.
Dean Fehl:
I see varying results with aerial application, but if there's a way of getting it done relatively timely without crop damage, as a result, I think that is part of the reason they do it that way. But again, some of those decisions... I'm not privy to the information. I don't ask. I don't know then I can't get in trouble.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. The rental contracts you have, cash rent or sharing or what?
Dean Fehl:
That's all over the board. I think they have multiple choice with different landowners.
Frank Lessiter:
Are you finding that it's easier for them to rent land because they are no-tilling and strip tilling or not?
Dean Fehl:
I would have to say I don't know, but I don't think it's hurting them.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Back when you were more active, was it a major selling point for you getting land?
Dean Fehl:
Yes, it was.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. What-
Dean Fehl:
The last number of years I farmed, I had owners coming to me saying they liked my system, and so we were able to do business based on that.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Well, that's great. Most landowners are local or live metropolitan areas or all over the place?
Dean Fehl:
Generally, local.
Frank Lessiter:
Years ago, I think it was Ben... We did an article with Ben and he was talking about tiling and he was talking about how you were able to convince landowners that you rent from to tile. Can you elaborate on that?
Dean Fehl:
Well, I was able to show them some yield maps that could prove that yield reductions were significant, where there was not adequate drainage. And as a result... I mean, it was pretty black and white. I had good participation with landowners.
Frank Lessiter:
I take it you were encouraging them to spend some money and tile the ground, right?
Dean Fehl:
That is correct.
Frank Lessiter:
Were you investing any money on tile, on rented ground, if you had a long term contract or not?
Dean Fehl:
Did very little of that, but there was payback to me over time. I had numerous scenarios that, yes, I worked with the landowners, yes, I spent some of my own money, but yes, I got it back.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. Do the boys have a lot of long term contracts for rented land or just one year? Because it gets pretty tough for someone to invest in tile and rented ground if they got a short contract.
Dean Fehl:
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I honestly do not know the links of their contracts other than my own scenario and the land that I rented them. And most families are long term, you know what I mean?
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah, right. Well, that's good. What have I missed talking to you about?
Dean Fehl:
I'm not real sure, Frank. I think we've covered a lot of the high spots. Getting started, obviously, there's learning curve in no-till. I wouldn't go back to full tillage for anything. It has proved to be a huge asset to our farming operations. All labor savings, fuel, machinery, soil quality above, it just is a great system.
Frank Lessiter:
You mentioned that there's no fertilizer going on in the planters. Can you elaborate on why that's been a good move for you people?
Dean Fehl:
Yeah, it's a time-consuming process. I think it's a good process to put fertilizer on with the planter, but I've always been a believer when it's time to plant corn, that's what you should be doing because there are alternatives for fertilizer application. And for me, using fertilizer at the time of planting was not a good reason for the planter to shut down because you had fertilizer problems.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. Well-
Dean Fehl:
But that's just my personal preference.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. Well, everybody's got a different idea. For years, there was always talk about whether we had to put starter fertilizer on with no-till corn or not. You people have found it not necessarily to do.
Dean Fehl:
Yeah. Yeah. That's in our scenario that it works fine to not. We've been happy with fields, and so as a result, they kind of stay in the course.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. Years ago, a lot of farmers had livestock and we got a lot of people through the corn belt today that don't have any livestock, and we got people who have a rotation of soybeans and corn in Florida in the winter. Now, I look at you're retired and you've kind of got corn and soybeans in Canada in the summer, right?
Dean Fehl:
That is correct. Yes.
Frank Lessiter:
Tell me about your Canadian experience.
Dean Fehl:
Well, I was very fortunate. Back in 1954 was the first time my parents took me to Canada. My dad was a fisherman, he enjoyed the area. And as I grew up, we continued to travel into Ontario, into Lake Country. I got married, my wife enjoyed it. Our kids grew up on a lake where we currently have a private cabin. It's just an awesome place to go on vacation, do a little fishing, relaxing, et cetera. Can't get enough of it.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. I think you told me you'll go up for maybe three weeks or so in the summer, come home for a while, and go back a couple times.
Dean Fehl:
That is correct, Frank.
Frank Lessiter:
And you told me that you're in Western Ontario, International Falls. Minnesota's kind of in the area.
Dean Fehl:
That is correct. We're just Northwest International Falls, about an hour drive.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. When you got in earlier, what were the biggest challenges you had with no-till?
Dean Fehl:
Cold, wet soils were probably my first concern, primarily planting corn into soybean ground. That would've been just my prior experience to strip till. The no-till soybeans, to me, is easier than no-till corn, but then you throw in the strip till scenario and then that maybe levels playing field a little bit as far as soil conditions and planting time.
Frank Lessiter:
Well, I always was early on was... One amazement to me that it looked like it would be easier to no-till corn into soybean stubble because there's not as much there as stocks, but a lot of people said that's just not the way it worked out.
Dean Fehl:
In my scenario, it didn't work out very well. I always kind of wanted to be out planting corn just absolutely as soon as I could. That was the case with me that it just wasn't just strictly no-tilling and the bean stubble was not working for me.
Frank Lessiter:
When do the boys and you like to get started planting in the spring?
Dean Fehl:
In our area, I'd say if you could take a five-year average, they're started by the 15th of April. I think this year, I believe, the first they started was April 5th on just very limited acreage. I think that was this year.
Frank Lessiter:
How long a planting window do you think you have or how long does it take to get all the crops in the ground?
Dean Fehl:
If the sun shines, they'll be done within a week.
Frank Lessiter:
Well, oh, that's great. Wow.
Dean Fehl:
Start to finish if weather cooperates.
Frank Lessiter:
I think I asked this earlier, but I can't remember for sure. You had a 24-row corn planter?
Dean Fehl:
Correct. And then the soybean planter is same configuration, same width, only 15-inch rows.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay.
Dean Fehl:
They're both 60-foot planters.
Frank Lessiter:
Gotcha. What kind of horsepower does it take to pull that in your ground?
Dean Fehl:
Well, they use two different tractors. One's, I don't know, 350 and the other one's 300 or something. I honestly don't know. I've kind of lost track of it. The makes and models of the tractors and what their horsepowers are, et cetera.
Frank Lessiter:
All we know is they cost a fortune.
Dean Fehl:
Yes, they do. They're kind of expensive these days, but we thought they were expensive a long time ago and they've only gotten worse.
Frank Lessiter:
Well, you got to have it if you're going to plant on time and get it done in a week or 10 days.
Dean Fehl:
Yeah, that's just exactly right. And of course our yields have gone up, and fortunately the last couple years the price of the corn and soybeans have gone up to help to offset it. It's all cycle.
Frank Lessiter:
Right. One of the things that interests me on strip till is, years ago in the early 90s, we had a newsletter for a few years on ridge till. And we finally got out of it because we didn't see that practice growing, but what's interesting is when you look at strip till, the number of things that they picked up from ridge till. Because they're building berms, they're deep placing P and K, they're doing controlled traffic, and the one thing they're not doing is cultivating, which was important with ridge till. But we had people who were bonafide strip tillers today who looked down their nose at ridge till, but a lot of the things that worked in ridge till they're now doing with strip till.
Dean Fehl:
That's correct. Yeah, I agree a hundred percent. We had a few ridge tillers in the area for a few years and it didn't take long for them to change their minds and start either no-tilling their beans or strip tilling their corn.
Frank Lessiter:
Yeah. One of the big problems-
Dean Fehl:
[inaudible 00:29:35].
Frank Lessiter:
Exactly. And one of the big problems was if they had livestock. When they were cultivating, they should have been baling hay.
Dean Fehl:
That's true too.
Frank Lessiter:
Right.
Dean Fehl:
Okay, Frank, you take care now.
Frank Lessiter:
Okay.
Dean Fehl:
Bye-bye.
Noah Newman:
And that'll wrap things up for this week's edition of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast. Thanks to Frank and Dean for joining us in this episode. Thanks to our sponsor, the Pluribus Lite from Dawn Equipment. You could find more podcasts about strip-till topics and strategies at striptillfarmer.com. Thanks again for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Have a great day.
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