Mike Starkey reviews what he's learned from onfarm trials and the changes he's made to his fertility-management practices throughout the years. This No-Till Farmer webinar is being made possible with support from Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers. [To view any of our webinar replays, you must be logged in with a free user account.]

As corn harvest is concluding, many farmers are turning their thoughts to preparing for next year's crop. One thought is on how to best apply nitrogen (N) fertilizers to maximize N use efficiency and corn yields. Nitrogen fertilizers can be applied at many times throughout the year including: fall, spring, preplant, at planting, sidedress, or through fertigation.

Banded application of fertilizer at planting is a key management practice for achieving the best yields in strip-till, no-till and ridge-till systems, says George Rehm, a retired nutrient management specialist with the University of Minnesota.

Strip-tiller finds corn yields take a healthy jump — while fertilizer rates and costs decrease — by placing nutrients with precision.

During one of the strip-till classroom sessions at the National No-Tillage Conference in St. Louis 2 weeks ago, a question came up about placing fertilizer.

Sometimes compliments come in surprising places.

After trying strip-till for the first time last spring on a small number of corn acres, Craig Mustard, his brother Chris and father Grant, plan to expand the practice on their farm in Canada, citing their early successes.