How does placement of phosphorus (P) in strip-till compare to other tillage systems and application practices? David Mengel, who currently operates a farm in Randolph, Kan., shares and analyzes results of recent research on P application to corn and soybeans in different tillage systems and offers agronomic considerations for how strip-tillers can be more efficient with P applications.

Emeritus agronomy professor and soil fertility researcher David Mengel will compare nutrient placement practices at the 4th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference on Aug. 3-4 in Omaha, Neb.

Research has consistently shown sugar applications do not provide a yield increase in corn or soybeans, Ohio State University Extension says.

Growers have believed that crops will get the carbon dioxide they need from the surrounding air, but environmental scientist and Woods End Soil Lab founder Will Brinton says that's no longer the case.

Stover accumulation has been shown to reduce corn grain yields in continuous corn production systems leading to suggestions that high corn prices, which result in more continuous corn production, will also could result in widespread implementation of stover removal practices.

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.

Equipment from British manufacturers, as well as continental and US implement makers, is primarily geared towards cereal crops or oilseed rape, sugar beet and maize, with a view to reducing energy input and weed germination.

Dean Carstens, president of Twin Diamond Industries in Minden, Neb., traveled to France in September to visit with farmers interested in strip-till. Twin Diamond ran a small ad about a year ago in an international ag equipment publication that generated five e-mails.

Fall strip-tillers can succeed by avoiding common mistakes including failure to consider soil conditions and manage soil fertility, industry experts says.