Less soil disturbance and targeted anhydrous application help Illinois strip-tiller Jerry Henkel reduce erosion, trim nitrogen use by 40% and improve corn yields.
With his bare-bones row-unit setup on a rented toolbar, Jerry Henkel doesn't consider himself a traditional strip-tiller. But for the last 15 years, Henkel's simple approach to strip-till has helped reduce nitrogen usage, improve corn yields and nearly eliminate erosion concerns.
Although reducing tillage intensity can provide conservation benefits and cost savings, adoption of no-till and minimum till practices for corn production has been limited in some areas, particularly in the northern Corn Belt. In this environment, a shorter growing season and cold, poorly drained soils can lead to delayed planting, low and uneven emergence and lower yields for reduced versus conventional tillage. Strip-till has been proposed as an alternative minimum tillage system for areas and soils that are not well suited for no-till management.
More than a year of bone-dry weather in the Corn Belt and Great Plains may dim our memories of the 2009 harvest, when fields in some states turned into swamps and harvest stretched into March 2010.
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.
Leo Johnson and his son, Patrick, are planting corn into strips for the first time in southern Wisconsin. Leo and Patrick discuss how their strip-till maiden voyage has gone so far in this preview of Leo’s 2024 National Strip-Tillage Conference presentation, “What I Learned from My First Year Strip-Tilling.” The conference takes place Aug. 8-9 in Madison, Wis. Download the full program and register at StripTillConference.com.
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.