Strip-Till Farmer’s 10th annual benchmark study of strip-till practices conducted in early 2023 shows that strip-tillers continue to have the upper hand over their no-till counterparts when it comes to corn and soybean yields.
Forecasts are always fun — if not entirely accurate — and provide an opportunity to predict the future. In the case of strip-till, I’ve anecdotally heard for years that there are pockets of growth.
The Environmental Working Group, with the Iowa Daily Erosion Project, estimates that millions of acres of Iowa farmland are losing dangerous amounts of soil through wind and water erosion at levels far exceeding the so-called tolerable rate of soil loss (5 tons per acre).
In the chemical age of agriculture that began in the 1960s, potassium chloride (KCl), the common salt often referred to as potash, is widely used as a major fertilizer in the Corn Belt without regard to the huge soil reserves that were once recognized for their fundamental importance to soil fertility.
Just 3 years ago, many strip-tillers in the Corn Belt struggled to harvest crops in wet fields, which limited or even eliminated fall strip-tilling. This fall, it's fields with dry soils that may pose problems for strip-tillers. But following three strategies can help strip-tillers manage dry soils, says , says Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota Extension crops and tillage educator.
Whether you lose the heart of your watermelon or the heart of your line-up on your ball team, your overall production will suffer, and that is what has happened to U.S. corn production as all of the major corn growing states suffered a reduction from their expected trend yield.
Strip-Till Farmer delivers a mix of features on strip-till farmers, strip-till management topics and trending practices in strip-till. This FREE quarterly print newsletter is available to qualified subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, precision specialist Chad Baker, co-owner of Baker Precision Planter Works in Orangeville, Ill., helps a first-generation no-tiller with planter setup, and later encounters a couple problems with a strip-tiller’s new 24-row planter. Plus, veteran agronomist Brad Forkner checks in with a couple tips for farmers to keep in mind before they take the field.
Montag products have proven results with patented precision metering application for significant savings of nutrients and cover crop seed, and for achieving best conservation practices.
Environmental Tillage Systems is a leading manufacturer of strip-till and nutrient-management equipment which enhances soil productivity and farm profitability.
Kuhn Krause's focus, above all, is to continue to produce quality products to serve producers better; to strive to respond to their needs with new tools and new technology to meet their growing challenges. Agronomic practices are constantly changing, and at a faster pace now than ever.