Strip-till is often equated to a puzzle, with farmers having to assemble aspects of equipment, fertilizer application, technology, seed selection and soil health together. When one piece is missing, others don’t often fit.

But the challenge for strip-tillers is that the size, shape and availability of those pieces can change. Perhaps more than any other farming practice, strip-till requires a willingness to adapt, experiment and learn.

Says veteran strip-tiller David Legvold, “Each person has his or her own specific needs so I have learned to keep still and listen to their adventures. I always believe I benefit the most from these conversations as we share ideas. To be sure, strip-till will build soil health and save money. But a bigger reason is to share the commonalities with other producers and continue the learning adventure.”

Results of the 5th Annual Strip-Till Operational Practices Benchmark study, evaluating 2017 cropping practices, reinforce the value of those idea-sharing opportunities, as corn yields, per-farm strip-till acre averages and precision farming technology adoption continued to grow.

More than 300 farmers from a record 27 states and Canada who identified themselves as strip-tillers responded to the 40-question survey from No-Till Farmer’s sister publication, Strip-Till Farmer.

In the following pages — and also within the pages of No-Till Farmer’s Summer…