Struggling to maintain yield consistency and mitigate erosion of precious topsoil, Clare Kurz adopted a twin-row system on his mostly irrigated 2,000-acre corn and soybean operation nearly 15 years ago. But the move was only part of the solution, as the Palmer, Neb., farmer also wanted a more efficient method to apply fertilizer and manage residue.
After experimenting with no-till, conventional tillage and ridge-till, Kurz turned to strip-till in 2005 to complement his twin-row setup. The permanent transition has helped improve nutrient uptake and water infiltration, reduced soil erosion and gradually increase both corn and soybean yields.
“We’ve put together a pretty effective system that helps make the most of our primarily sandy soils,” Kurz says. “It’s been a combination of banding fertilizer, reducing erosion and improving soil structure that has contributed to a 20-bushel increase in corn yields and 8-10 bushels per acre with soybeans.”
While making the move to twin-row has proven to be a good fit, it didn’t come without its initial challenges. Kurz prefers a crop rotation of 3 years corn followed by 1 year of soybeans, but managing corn-on-corn residue proved to be problematic.
“We switched from 36-inch singles to 36-inch twins, with our twin rows about 8 inches apart. Planting an average…
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On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by CultivAce, we head to Amboy, Ill., where Dave Thompson shares his top takeaways from harvest season. Univ. of Illinois soil scientist Andrew Margenot discusses why some no-tillers might want to dial back P and K rates next growing season.
