While equipment manufacturer Rex Bland of Wako, LLC is no longer actively advertising strip-till machines, he’s a believer in the practice. Bland says many growers aren’t receiving the most benefits from strip-till because they aren’t willing to experiment and change knives and coulters to avoid the tunneling and large aggregates their tools are producing.

“It takes work to change all the ground-engaging components on a strip-till bar,” Bland says. “For too many growers, it’s just easier to drop it in the ground with what they’ve been using and go with it.”

For those willing to up their game, however, Bland recommends digging behind their current set-up to determine if they are leaving “gopher tunnels” under the planting zone, or boiling up cloddy aggregates.

“I was taught to shove a spade into the ground across the strip, then use another spade to dig out behind it all the way to the bottom of the strip. Try to go as deep as the knife is running,” Bland says. “Once the strip is clear behind the first spade, pull that spade out and look at the cross-section of the strip, from the soil surface to the bottom track of the knife.

“Use a pocket knife to chip away at the strip where the roots will be growing and check for aggregate size and signs of that hole in the bottom.”

Bland suggests changing the knife and coulter on a single row unit for the experiment and finding the right combination and adjustments (if applicable). Then, make the commitment to upgrade the entire width of the stripper.

“I’d just make the changes and go,” he says. “As long as you’re operating in the same soils you will have made significant improvements to your management without having to repeat the digging process over and over.”

To see more of Bland’s insights on strip-tilling, read Dan Crummett’s article “Strip-Till Machine Developer Offers Berm-Building Tips” featured in the Summer 2026 issue of Strip-Till Farmer.