I received an email from a farmer on the East Coast whose switch from no-till to strip-till hit a snag. He’s not failing, but he’s not seeing the immediate return on investment (ROI) he was hoping for.

Andrew Focht is still trying to figure out the best fertilizer rates for his farm, but his goals are clear. He wants to slash his fertilizer bill by 25% and use only 0.8 pounds of N per bushel, which is about 0.3-0.4 pounds less than he’s used in years past.

Mercer, Mo., strip-tiller Galt Porter won more than just bragging rights when his 405-bushel yield captured the 2024 NCGA Yield Contest national title in the strip-till, non-irrigated class.

Ray Flickner’s use of cutting-edge technologies and management practices to conserve water and boost soil health — and willingness to put everything under a microscope for all to see — makes him more than worthy of the 2025 Strip-Till Innovator Award.

Lease-to-own program enables farmer to see benefits of strip-till in challenging climate.

Micronutrients only make up about 2% of a typical fertility program, but failing to manage them properly can limit yield potential significantly

Third-generation farmer solves erosion problems with strip-till & cover crops

Hosted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), the tour included a visit to Ryan and Christina Larson’s 1,000-acre strip-till and no-till operation in Garretson, S.D., near the southwestern Minnesota border.

“When you approach the rootworm as just a problem that has to be solved, you’re not taking into account the animal’s biology,” Ann Marie Journey says. “You’re hitting it just at certain points or with certain methods or controls, and you’re not allowing yourself in effect to have a conversation to gain insight back from the rootworms about what it is that makes them successful in any given place."

Residue cover is critical to maintaining soil structure. But with corn yields averaging more than 200 bushels per acre, I need an effective strategy for breaking all that heavy residue down