Editor's Note: Brian Herbek will be leading a classroom, "Building a Balanced Plate at the Strip-Till Buffet," at the 2026 National Strip-Tillage Conference, Aug. 6-7 in Springfield, Ill. 

Brian Herbek tried just about every system — including conventional tillage, ridge-till and no-till — on his 2,000-acre corn and soybean dryland and irrigated farm in Dewese, Neb., before experimenting with strip-till around 2009.

He strip-tilled about one-third of his acres that fall, and after seeing the benefits, he started strip-tilling 100% of his acres the following year. 

“At first, I just wanted to try something different,” Herbek says. “Then we realized the residue management benefits were huge. As our operation grew, we understood how much strip-till would help logistically and with fuel savings. It’s just me and my wife doing most of the work, so we knew we had to be more efficient.”

Two Rigs

To achieve his goals, Herbek uses 2 Environmental Tillage Systems (ETS) SoilWarriors. One is a 16-row liquid machine and the other is a 12-row dry and liquid machine. 

“We’re evolving into more of a liquid system,” Herbek says. “Our nutrient levels are more balanced now, and we’re needing less and less fertilizer, so we don’t need to use the dry box as much.”

When Herbek does apply dry fertilizer, it usually comes in the form of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the fall. His liquid mix in the spring includes a base rate of nitrogen (N), humics, sulfur, boron, molybdenum and copper.

“We focus on what our soil and tissue samples tell us before we make an application,” Herbek says. “We also pay close attention to the pH level of the solution. Our efficiency levels have skyrocketed the last few years since we’ve been homing in on that.”

Herbek is a big believer in the 4R philosophy — right source, right rate, right time and right place. There’s a reaction with every application, and when you overload the strip with a ton of nutrients, you throw the balance out of whack, Herbek says. 

“In the strip-till community, many people have lost sight of that,” he says. “If you eat a huge piece of prime rib, aka nitrogen, you won’t have room for potatoes and vegetables and all the other stuff needed to be healthy for the longevity of the race.”

Study the Soil

Herbek developed an extensive zone sampling protocol to help craft his application rates. Combining satellite imagery, harvest data, soil types and test results, he’s increasingly confident in the demands of his zones. 

“I sample 4 inches off the growing plant in season,” Herbek says. “After harvest, as soon as the combine has gone through the field, I sample where we’re going to plant next year’s crop. I sample 15 inches off the old corn row because that’s where I’ll be building strips.” 

With test results in hand and a clearer picture of what’s available in the soil, Herbek asks himself several questions.

“Why is our P not where it needs to be? Is it because the soil is lacking it or is our calcium out of whack? Is our zinc out of whack? Did we raise the pH too quickly in our strip to tie up some of the P?”

Dialing Back

Herbek prioritizes efficiency over yield these days. Everyone wants to raise 300-bushel corn, but economically, that might not always make the most sense, he says. 

“In this economy, we need to be as efficient as possible,” Herbek says. “Many guys don’t cut back as much as they should, and I used to be one of them. A lot of nutrient recommendations (from university trials) are for the whole soil profile. But with strip-till, we’re concentrating it (in a strip), so theoretically we’re only applying nutrients to 33% of the soil profile. 

“If you’re applying 100 pounds of N across every square inch of the field, you should be applying about 33 pounds with strip-till, so you’re not throwing the system out of balance. Do I have the magic number for every nutrient? No, not yet, that’s what we’re still working on.” 

Herbek has dialed back his pre-plant rates and is now applying more nutrients in season through Y-drops and fertigation. 

“This is purely observational, but since we started applying less fertilizer and balancing nutrients, the disease levels in our crops have gone down,” Herbek says. “Crown rot is a direct correlation to the overapplication of N. We see less need for fungicides and insecticides when we keep the plant balanced and healthy.”