Strip-tillers often speak of their fields’ ability to absorb the impact of a hard rain, without seeing precious topsoil or applied nutrients wash away. But just how are the fertilizer savings and reduced soil erosion being measured and managed? Recent research by University of Minnesota regional extension educator Jodi DeJong-Hughes is putting numbers behind the benefits of keeping soil and nutrients in the field where it belongs.
“Farmers can lose the equivalent of $55 of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium into the ditch,” says DeJong-Hughes, who details her recent research on quantifying the value of conservation tillage techniques as erosion-reducing tactics, including cover crops, crop selection and tillage depths.
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The 2018 National Strip-Tillage Conference Video Replay is brought to you by Ingersoll Tillage Group.
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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.
