After reading the request for reports on fuel efficiency in the last issue of Strip-Till Strategies, Minnesota strip-tiller Rod Sommerfield shared this good news. Sommerfield farms 35 miles southeast of Northfield, Minn., and uses a 12-row Red Ball stripper set to 30-inch spacings, pulled with a 245-horsepower tractor and Flexicoil air cart behind the strip-till unit for fertilizer application.

Whether they're veterans or rookies, six strip-tillers across the U.S. are paying close attention to their fertilizer programs to maximize profitable production of corn, soybeans and other crops. By varying fertilizer rates, timing, placement and equipment, strip-tillers have improved early root development, fertilizer efficiency and profitability.

Ever since David Legvold began farming land owned by St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., about 9 years ago, he's worked with university professors and students to document the impacts of tillage and crop inputs on profitability, soil health and water quality.

When it comes to saving money, strip-tiller David Legvold has a nugget to share. After the Northfield, Minn., strip-tiller shared results of the research on nitrogen response in strip-tilled corn that he completed in 2012, I asked about his fuel use for strip-till vs. conventional tillage.

Like many farmers during this past growing season, Iowa strip-tiller Frank Moore harvested corn and soybeans with wildly varying yields. Much of the variation stemmed from when, where and how much rain fell, along with planting dates and when corn pollinated.

With farmland recently selling for more than $21,000 an acre in Iowa, saving $5.93 an acre may seem like a drop in the bucket. But paying attention to dollars and cents makes great sense to Cresco, Iowa strip-tiller Frank Moore, who's been farming for more than 35 years.

For farmers who've used 22-inch rows and conventional tillage for dry edible beans and sugarbeets, going to a 22-inch strip-till system seems like a natural transition. Increasingly, these farmers are also growing corn on narrow-row spacing.

When hard ground bends and breaks equipment on strip-till rigs, and ripple and fluted coulters won't go in the dirt, try a straight coulter, says Iowa tillage and planting consultant Kevin Kimberley.

The message from Nick Jensen, chief marketing officer for Thurston Mfg., and from agronomists from Monsanto, is that strip-tilling in cold climates will help the soil warm up faster, get corn out of the ground quicker and improve yields.

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.