Posted June 12, 2026:
- Cover Crop Termination with Strip-Tilled Soybeans
- Before planting — 24% of strip-tillers
- At planting — 13% of strip-tillers
- After planting — 64% of strip-tillers
- Didn’t terminate — 4% of strip-tillers
Posted June 5, 2026:
- How Long Have Strip-Tillers Been Stripping?
- 2-4 — 11% of strip-tillers
- 5-10 — 35% of strip-tillers
- 11-15 — 22% of strip-tillers
- 16-20 — 13% of strip-tillers
- Over 20 — 19% of strip-tillers
Posted May 29, 2026:
- Strip-Tillers Split on Shanks, Coulters & Knives
- Shank — 52% of strip-tillers
- Coulter system — 19% of strip-tillers
- Mole knife — 29% of strip-tillers
The below data is from the 2025 Strip-Till Farmer Operational Benchmark Survey.
Posted October 16, 2025:
- How Strip-Tillers Terminate Cover Crops
- Herbicides - 87% of strip-tillers
- Winter kill - 20% of strip-tillers
- Roller, crimper - 7% of strip-tillers
- Tillage - 6% of strip-tillers
- Grazing - 4% of strip-tillers
- Mowing - 5% of strip-tillers
- Didn't terminate - 6% of strip-tillers
- Top Benefits for Strip-Tillers Seeding Cover Crops
- Erosion prevention
- Improved rainfall infiltration
- Better soil biological activity
Posted October 9, 2025:
- Nitrogen Applied for 2025 Strip-Till Corn Yield Goal
- Less than 0.8 lbs. — 31% of strip-tillers
- 0.8-0.99 — 50% of strip-tillers
- 1.0-1.2 — 16% of strip-tillers
- More than 1.2 — 3% of strip-tillers
- How Strip-Tillers Are Seeding Cover Crops
- Drill — 39% of strip-tillers
- Broadcast spreader — 35% of strip-tillers
- Air seeder — 18% of strip-tillers
- Airplane, helicopter — 16% of strip-tillers
- Vertical tillage seeder14% of strip-tillers
- Drone — 10% of strip-tillers
- Planter — 10% of strip-tillers
- Interseeding toolbar — 9% of strip-tillers
- Self-propelled sprayer — 1% of strip-tillers
Posted October 2, 2025:
- Other Tillage Practices Used by Strip-Tillers
- No-till — 68% of strip-tillers
- Conventional tillage — 28% of strip-tillers
- Vertical tillage — 26% of strip-tillers
- Mulch tillage — 5% of strip-tillers
- Cover Crop Seed Costs for Strip-Tillers
- Less than $9.99 — 11% of strip-tillers
- $10.00-$14.99 — 24% of strip-tillers
- $15.00-$19.99 — 28% of strip-tillers
- $20.00-$29.99 — 27% of strip-tillers
- $30.00-$39.99 — 8% of strip-tillers
- Over $40.00 — 2% of strip-tillers
Posted September 25, 2025:
- Popular Row Widths with Strip-Till
- 20-inch rows - 2%
- 22 rows - 5%
- 30 rows - 89%
- 36% rows - 2%
- 38 rows - 1%
- Other - 3%
- How Strip-Tillers Manage Residue
- Row cleaners on planter - 80%
- Row cleaners on strip-till rig - 62%
- Sizing residue with combine - 40%
- Vertical tillage tool - 15%
- Biological application - 10%
Posted September 18, 2025:
- Strip-Tillers Planting Green Into Living Cover Crops
- Corn — 31% of strip-tillers
- Soybeans — 50% of strip-tillers
- How Often Are Strip-Tilled Fields Soil Tested?
- Every 3 years — 53% of strip-tillers
- Every 2 years — 29% of strip-tillers
- Annually — 17% of strip-tillers
- Never — 1% of strip-tillers
Posted September 11, 2025:
- Cover Crop Nitrogen Savings with Strip-Tilled Corn
- 0-19 lbs. per acre — 59% of strip-tillers
- 20-39 lbs. per acre — 32% of strip-tillers
- 40-59 lbs. per acre — 4% of strip-tillers
- 60-79 lbs. per acre — 1% of strip-tillers
- 80-99 lbs. per acre — 1% of strip-tillers
- 100-125 lbs. per acre — 3% of strip-tillers
- Top Reasons for Strip-Tillers Seeding Cover Crops
- Nitrogen fixation
- Weed suppression
- Erosion prevention
Posted September 4, 2025:
- 45% of Strip-Tillers Use Variable-Rate Fertilization
- What Nutrients Are Placed with Strip-Till Rigs?
- Potash — 57% of strip-tillers
- Sulfur — 40% of strip-tillers
- Diammonium phosphate — 31% of strip-tillers
- Zinc — 29% of strip-tillers
- Ammonium sulfate — 28% of strip-tillers
- Monoammonium phosphate — 28% of strip-tillers
- Anhydrous ammonia — 22% of strip-tillers
- Liquid nitrogen — 21% of strip-tillers
- Potassium — 19% of strip-tillers
- Ammonium phosphate — 18% of strip-tillers
- Urea — 18% of strip-tillers
- Boron — 17% of strip-tillers
- Other micronutrients — 14% of strip-tillers
- Microessentials (MESZ) — 11% of strip-tillers
- Lime — 6% of strip-tillers
- Manure — 3% of strip-tillers
Posted August 28, 2025:
- Where’s Fertilizer Placed in Strip-Till Berms?
- Below berm — 65% of strip-tillers
- Mix into berm — 37% of strip-tillers
- Between berms — 4% of strip-tillers
- Precision Tech Usage by Strip-Tillers
- GPS tractor auto-steer — 89% of strip-tillers
- Yield monitor data analysis — 74% of strip-tillers
- Field mapping — 68% of strip-tillers
- Auto-boom/nozzle shutoffs — 65% of strip-tillers
- Auto-seed shutoff — 63% of strip-tillers
- Variable-rate fertilization — 52% of strip-tillers
- Satellite aerial imagery — 45% of strip-tillers
- Variable-rate seeding — 43% of strip-tillers
- GPS implement guidance — 35% of strip-tillers
- Drones — 23% of strip-tillers
- GPS lightbar guidance — 10% of strip-tillers
- Remote sensing — 6% of strip-tillers
Posted August 21, 2025:
- Micronutrients Applied to Strip-Tilled Corn
- Boron — 60% of strip-tillers
- Calcium — 25% of strip-tillers
- Manganese — 23% of strip-tillers
- Magnesium — 20% of strip-tillers
- Copper — 16% of strip-tillers
- Iron — 16% of strip-tillers
- Molybdenum — 15% of strip-tillers
- Other — 2% of strip-tillers
- Chloride — 1% of strip-tillers
- Most Popular Cover Crops (Alone or in Mixtures) Seeded by Strip-Tillers
- Cereal Rye — 72% of strip-tillers
- Oats — 36% of strip-tillers
- Radish, oilseed radish — 33% of strip-tillers
- Wheat — 23% of strip-tillers
- Rapeseed — 21% of strip-tillers
- Turnips — 21% of strip-tillers
- Vetch — 16% of strip-tillers
- Annual ryegrass — 16% of strip-tillers
- Crimson clover — 16% of strip-tillers
- Red clover — 12% of strip-tillers
Posted August 14, 2025:
- 1,825 Acres Is Average Farm Size for Strip-Tillers
- First-Time Strip-Tillers Averaged 56 Bushels per Acre of Soybeans
Posted August 7, 2025:
- 79% of Strip-Tillers Seed Cover Crops
- GPS Correction Signals Used by Strip-Tillers
- Satellite-based RTK — 42% of strip-tillers
- Land-based RTK — 25% of strip-tillers
- Cellular based RTK — 20% of strip-tillers
- WASS — 7% of strip-tillers
- No signal used — 6% of strip-tillers
Posted July 31, 2025:
- What Width Strips Are Built?
- 6 inches — 16% of strip-tillers
- 7 inches — 12% of strip-tillers
- 8 inches — 39% of strip-tillers
- 9 inches — 5% of strip-tillers
- 10 inches — 21% of strip-tillers
- 11 inches — 2% of strip-tillers
- Other — 4% of strip-tillers
- Nutrients Applied to Strip-Tilled Soybeans
- Potassium — 78% of strip-tillers
- Phosphorus — 63% of strip-tillers
- Micronutrients — 59% of strip-tillers
- Nitrogen — 22% of strip-tillers
- None — 13% of strip-tillers
Posted July 24, 2025:
- Most Popular Planters Used with Strip-Till
- 48 rows — 2% of strip-tillers
- 24 rows — 25% of strip-tillers
- 16 rows — 37% of strip-tillers
- 12 rows — 24% of strip-tillers
- 8 rows — 6% of strip-tillers
- 6 rows — 8% of strip-tillers
- First-Time Strip-Tillers Averaged 207 Bushels per Acre of Corn
Posted July 17, 2025:
- Nitrogen Sources with Strip-Tilled Corn
- 32% — 53% of strip-tillers
- 28% — 40% of strip-tillers
- Ammonium sulfate — 38% of strip-tillers
- Urea — 26% of strip-tillers
- Anhydrous ammonia — 25% of strip-tillers
- Ammonia nitrate — 2% of strip-tillers
- How Long Have Strip-Tillers Been Seeding Cover Crops?
- 1-5 years — 38% of strip-tillers
- 6-10 years — 27% of strip-tillers
- 11-15 years — 23% of strip-tillers
- 16-30 years — 12% of strip-tillers
Posted July 10, 2025:
- Strip-Tillers Average 580 Acres of Strip-Tilled Corn
- What Depth Is Used When Building Strips?
- 3 inches — 4% of strip-tillers
- 4 inches — 7% of strip-tillers
- 5 inches — 10% of strip-tillers
- 6 inches — 25% of strip-tillers
- 7 inches — 19% of strip-tillers
- 8 inches — 25% of strip-tillers
- 9 inches — 3% of strip-tillers
- Other — 6% of strip-tillers
Posted July 3, 2025:
- How Old Are Strip-Tillers?
- 65 plus — 28% of strip-tillers
- 55-64 — 29% of strip-tillers
- 45-54 — 17% of strip-tillers
- 35-44 — 14% of strip-tillers
- 25-34 — 11% of strip-tillers
- Under 25 — 2% of strip-tillers
- Where Strip-Tillers Live
- Corn Belt — 44% of strip-tillers
- Lake states — 29% of strip-tillers
- Northern Plains — 8% of strip-tillers
- Northeast — 8% of strip-tillers
Posted June 26, 2025:
- Which Herbicides Are Used by Strip-Tillers to Terminate Cover Crops
- Glyphosate — 100% of strip-tillers
- 2,4-D — 33% of strip-tillers
- Paraquat — 7% of strip-tillers
- Glufosinate — 5% of strip-tillers
- Clethodium — 13% of strip-tillers
- Other — 3% of strip-tillers
- What Size Strip-Till Toolbars are Most Popular?
- 24 row — 7% of strip-tillers
- 16 rows — 33% of strip-tillers
- 12 rows — 37% of strip-tillers
- 8 rows — 15% of strip-tillers
- 6 rows — 7% of strip-tillers
Posted June 19, 2025:
- When Are Strips Being Built?
- Fall — 43% of strip-tillers
- Spring — 26% of strip-tillers
- Both fall & spring — 31% of strip-tillers
- At What Depth is Banded Fertilizer Placed in Strips?
- 3 inches — 5% of strip-tillers
- 4 inches — 15% of strip-tillers
- 5 inches — 14% of strip-tillers
- 6 inches — 43% of strip-tillers
- 7 inches — 11% of strip-tillers
- 8 inches — 12% of strip-tillers
Posted June 12, 2025:
- Biggest Strip-Till Challenges with Cover Crops
- Timely planting
- Establishing cover crops before frosts
- Too much spring moisture
- Strip-Tillers Average 329 Acres of Strip-Tilled Soybeans
Posted June 5, 2025:
- Strip-Tillers Split on Shanks, Coulters & Knives
- Shank - 48% of strip-tillers use this setup
- Coulter - 43% of strip-tillers use this setup
- Mole knife - 32% of strip-tillers use this setup
- How Long Have Strip-Tillers Been Stripping?
- 1 year - 11% of strip-tillers
- 2-4 years - 25% of strip-tillers
- 5-10 years - 23% of strip-tillers
- 11-15 years - 12% of strip-tillers
- 16-20 years - 10% of strip-tillers
- Over 20 years - 20% of strip-tillers
