Planting season 2026 has arrived and judging from the videos I’m seeing on social media, many of you have already started on soybeans!

Strip-tillers are trying to build off a respectable 61.3-bushel soybean yield average in 2025, according to our latest Strip-Till Benchmark Study report (which comes out later this month). In comparison, the USDA reported an average 2025 soybean yield of 53 bushels per acre, which was an all-time high in the department’s history.

As many of you know, the world record (218 bushels in 2024) was set by Leesburg, Ga., strip-tiller Alex Harrell, who remains the only member of the 200-bushel soybean club. Will this be the year someone else joins him?

Farmers are expected to plant 84.7 million acres of soybeans this spring in the U.S., according to the USDA Prospective Plantings report. That’s up 4% from last year.

With soybean acreage (and yields!) on the rise, I figured it would be interesting to examine the methods of 3 strip-tillers who reported the highest average soybean yields in our Benchmark Study. Let’s dive in.

Strip-Tiller No. 1

AVERAGE YIELD: 82 bushels per acre across 100 strip-tilled soybean acres
LOCATION: Illinois
STRIP-TILL EXPERIENCE: 5-10 years
AGE: 45-54
STRIP-TILL BRANDS USED: Case IH/DMI, Dawn Equipment, 6-row toolbar
STRIP-TILL ROW UNIT SETUPS: Coulter system, mole knife
TIMING: Fall strips (3 inches deep, 10 inches wide), sometimes uses spring freshener
PLANTER: John Deere, 30-inch rows 
PLANTING POPULATION: 140,000
VARIETIES/TRAITS: Roundup Ready, LibertyLink, Enlist
SEED TREATMENTS: Fungicide, insecticide, nematicide
FERTILIZER: Phosphorus (P), potassium (K), zinc, magnesium, biologicals.
CROP PROTECTION: Glyphosate, glufosinate, 2, 4-D, other pre and post herbicides, residual herbicide at burndown, foliar insecticides and fungicides.
RESIDUE MANAGEMENT: Row cleaners on planter and strip-till rig, sizing residue with combine attachments
COVER CROPS: None
SOIL TESTING: Every 3 years or more 
RTK: Land-based

Strip-Tiller No. 2

AVERAGE YIELD: 81 bushels per acre across 250 strip-tilled soybean acres
LOCATION: Pennsylvania
STRIP-TILL EXPERIENCE: 5-10 years
AGE: 45-54
STRIP-TILL BRAND USED: Yetter, 12-row toolbar
STRIP-TILL ROW UNIT SETUP: Coulter system
TIMING: Spring strips (3 inches deep, 6 inches wide)
PLANTER: John Deere, 30-inch rows
PLANTING POPULATION: 119,905
VARIETIES/TRAITS: Enlist
SEED TREATMENTS: None
FERTILIZER: P, K, sulfur, zinc, boron
MANURE APPLIED: Cattle, poultry 
CROP PROTECTION: Glyphosate, other pre and post herbicides, residual herbicide at burndown and post-emerge, foliar fungicides and insecticides
RESIDUE MANAGEMENT: Row cleaners on strip-till rig, sizing residue with combine attachments
COVER CROPS: None
SOIL TESTING: Annually
RTK: Cellular-based

Strip-Tiller No. 3

AVERAGE YIELD: 79 bushels per acre across 275 strip-tilled soybean acres
LOCATION: Illinois
STRIP-TILL EXPERIENCE: 2-4 years
AGE: 35-44
STRIP-TILL BRANDS USED: Dawn Equipment, Kuhn Krause, 8-row toolbar
STRIP-TILL ROW UNIT SETUPS: Shank, coulter system
TIMING: Fall (7 inches deep, 10 inches wide, fertilizer banded 6 inches deep), spring freshener sometimes
PLANTER: Custom-built Precision Planting, 30-inch rows
PLANTING POPULATION: 100,000
VARIETIES/TRAITS: Roundup Ready, LibertyLink, Enlist
SEED TREATMENTS: Fungicide, insecticide, nematicide, inoculant
FERTILIZER: Using variable rate fertility, P, K 
CROP PROTECTION: Glufosinate, 2, 4-D, other pre herbicide, residual herbicides post-emerge, foliar fungicides and insecticides
RESIDUE MANAGEMENT: Row cleaners on planter & strip-till rig, sizing residue with combine attachments
COVER CROPS: Cereal rye on 50 acres, seeded post-harvest with air seeder, terminated with glyphosate after planting
SOIL TESTING: Every 3 years or more
RTK: Satellite-based

As we can tell from this exercise, the "secret sauce" for soybean success is different for everyone. I’ll share more insights from our Benchmark Study in the coming weeks. In the meantime, good luck this planting season!