Efficiency is the name of the game for Shawn Olsen, who farms 4,500 acres with his dad, David, brother, Kelly and son, Carter, and runs a custom strip-till business that covers up to 25,000 acres in east central South Dakota.
Obviously this goes against many of the concepts we emphasize in No-Till Farmer, but I was interested in understanding the “why” behind this no-till farmer’s decision to plow again on heavy soils.
On July 12, researchers applied supplemental N treatments to two corn fields. The treatments included three supplemental N rates (0, 40 and 80 pounds per acre) and two N sources/methods of application (urea, 46-0-0, with NBPT applied as a surface broadcast, and UAN, 32-0-0, applied at the base of the corn row).
Kansas State University researchers received a $2 million award from the National Science Foundation to develop sensors that can more accurately detect nutrients, chemical compounds, soil microbiomes and greenhouse gases in soil.
Nick Preissler is a realist regarding the future of nitrogen use, knowing that restrictions could happen at some point. That’s why his goal is to grow profitable corn using 0.5 pounds nitrogen per bushel—cutting old recommendations in half.
Harnessing this residual nitrogen can provide a natural nutrient source for crops in the 2025 season, helping reduce the need for additional fertilizers, lowering costs, and preserving soil and water quality.
The trial resulted in a significant difference in yield response to the varied nitrogen rates. A rate of 54 gallons of 28% UAN per acre led to an increase of an average of 5.1 bushels per acre compared to a rate of 37 gallons of 28% UAN per acre. However, the higher rate of nitrogen incurred a relative loss of $28.05 per acre.
With Palmer amaranth becoming more herbicide-resistant, producers are pushing to find new ways to control it, such as using a rye cover crop to suppress it.
On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by DigiFarm, Andrew Focht takes us inside his strip-till operation in Villisca, Iowa. He explains how his strategies are helping him increase N efficiency and cut back on P and K by 30% while increasing yields to over 300 bushels per acre on some fields.
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.
On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Sound Agriculture, 4 Leopold Conservation Award recipients — Russell Hedrick, Richard Lyons, Colleen Kershaw and Wendy Mariko Johnson highlight some of the unique conservation practices on their farms.
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.
For over 90 years, Yetter Farm Equipment has designed and manufactured innovative and effective solutions for the agriculture industry. Today, we are proud to be recognized worldwide as an industry leader in designing row cleaners, strip till tools, planter attachments, precision fertilizer placement attachments, rotary hoes, toolbars, and harvest attachments.