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Noah Newman:

All right, it's time for another edition of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment. Great to have you with us. My name is Noah Newman, your host. Now in our most recent State of the State Address, Kansas governor, Laura Kelly, gave a shout-out to strip-tiller's Ron and Marsha Schilling, for helping solve the state's water supply issues.

Now that caught our attention of course. So we called the Schilling's to talk about their strip-till origin story, and how they've been able to make such a big impact in the state. So on this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, Ron Schilling talks about the motivation behind their switch to strip-till, how they incorporate cattle into their system, why they build strips in the spring and much more. Let's jump into the conversation. Here's Ron.

Ron Schilling:

My name is Ron Schilling. My wife and I, Marsh is her name, we've been farming for around 40 years. We started strip-tilling in the early 2000s. I don't remember the exact year it was, but we did it because we needed to conserve water. And not only are we conserving water with strip-till, but we're also conserving a lot of fuel and just excessive trips across the field. It used to just drive me crazy. You'd work a field five or six, seven times before you'd plant corn. And since we've gone to strip-till, I think we get a better stand. We get our fertilizer in there better.

I really like the strip-till method of how we do things. And then I also hire a crew that comes in and does my strip-tilling. It's Steve Dewell, he lives on the west side of the county. I guess I need to tell you where I'm located at, we're in Sherman County, Kansas, which sits along Interstate 70. And we border Colorado, is where Sherman County is. We run 14 circles to plant a lot of irrigated corn, some soybeans and irrigated milo. Kind of rotate stuff around, but strip-till's been working really good for us.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. What are some of the unique challenges that come with the location in Kansas where you are? You mentioned water conservation was a big motivator for switching to strip-till. I have to imagine that's one of the big challenges where you are?

Ron Schilling:

Yes, we irrigate, and so the strip-till works really good. Some of the challenges that fit our operation is a lot of guys strip-till in the fall after they get their own harvest, but we run a lot of cow and we want to graze these cornstalks, and so we have to wait till about the end of March, 1st April to get stuff strip-tilled and that gives us about three weeks to start planting corn. And so we're kind of in a timeframe window. And that's one of the reasons we use Steve Dewell too, is they roll in with two big rigs and they wipe us out pretty fast. So we like that method.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. So when you first started strip-tilling then, just going back to those early days of strip-tilling, did you know right away that you needed to hire someone like Steve to help you get it going? Or is that something you learned as the years went on?

Ron Schilling:

Well, when we first started strip-tilling, we only did about five or six circles and then our program has grown, so we've just added on it this way. Strip-till equipment is pretty expensive. It takes a lot of power, horsepower and then manpower. And in the situation that we're in right now, I think we're like most people, we're just short of help. We just don't have enough help to get everything done. So I can hire Steve Dewell to come in and help us out, and they do such a good job for us. It's just fantastic.

Noah Newman:

Yeah, looking forward to hearing from Steve here later. But you mentioned you started kind of small in terms of strip-till acreage, and then you increased your acreage. Did you do that because right away you saw the benefits, just take us through that?

Ron Schilling:

Well, yeah, we saw other people were strip-tilling before us and I watched them. We've always had our farms on an experiment station, so we like to watch other people to see how they're getting along. At first I didn't think it would work, I really didn't think it was going to work because we've never done it that way. So old time thing, we got to do it the old way, but as we watched the neighbors and watched what they were doing and it caught on pretty fast. And we decided to switch over to strip-till and it's worked out really well for us.

Noah Newman:

What were some of the challenges that you could think of off the top of your head when you made the switch to strip-till?

Ron Schilling:

Well, technology is the biggest thing to get lined back up. We run all John Deere equipment, Dewell's run John Deere equipment so we can line up computers, make everything work good. I'm not a techy person, so I have to have some help with that. And the Dewell's have helped me. And of course my oldest son's real techy and so he helps me too. But just the technology part of strip-till and once you get past that, it's a breeze. It's an absolute breeze.

We plant a lot of corn on corn, on corn, on corn, and that's just the way a lot of guys irrigate out here. Now we've started switching against some soybeans every once in a while. Also, with limited water, we're trying to cut back on water usage, we're using some milo. I like the milo. Last year we got hurt pretty hard because of the heat. I don't think... It wasn't so much that we were in a drought last year, it was that the heat just choked them plants down. It was just unbearable for humans and plants. We didn't get into production last year like we wanted.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. Have you made your strips yet or what's your timing like as far as that goes?

Ron Schilling:

No, we haven't started. We haven't started strip-tilling yet. So we still got cows out on cornstalks. We're going to get them in and we're starting to [inaudible 00:05:33], and we're seeing something different this year. We haven't [inaudible 00:05:36] in the mud for a long time, so I feel very optimistic that maybe we're going to start getting some rain again.

Noah Newman:

Yeah, I hope so. Fingers crossed for that. Can you tell us what kind of fertilizers you use for each of your crops and just what your nutrient management plan is like?

Ron Schilling:

Okay, so we're shooting for around 200 pounds again, when we strip-till our crops. Also then I have some starter fertilizer I run with planters, but I have gone to all liquid fertilizer from Nutrient, and switched over to that from anhydrous probably five, seven years ago.

But I like the liquid fertilizer and I know I sound kind of like a tree hugger here, but I got concerned about my organic matter, the earthworms. I'm trying to build a better soil and I think the anhydrous might've hurt us some on those things. So switching in to liquid fertilizer, I think I'm keeping my soil health better that way and that's why I've gone to a liquid fertilizer.

Noah Newman:

All right. Let's take a quick timeout to share a message from our sponsor, Yetter Farm Equipment. The 2984 Strip Freshener from Yetter gives you flexibility within your strip-till system. You control the level of tillage perform to create the ideal seedbed. Strip Fresheners can also place liquid or dry fertilizer in the strips, use it ahead of the planter to facilitate consistent soil warming and bring existing strips to life. Use the Strip Freshener in the fall, in the spring, or hey, in both seasons if you want, you decide.

Visit yetterco.com, that's Y-E-T-T-E-R-C-O.com for more information. Now back to the conversation.

Do you split applications of it or do you put it all on at once or how does that work?

Ron Schilling:

We get most of our anhydrous put on... I mean, we get most of our nitrogen put on through the strip-till machine in our falls. And then when I plant, I'm laying down a starter fertilizer and the Black Label and those kind of things, just double whammy up a little bit.

Noah Newman:

And then what's in your starter fertilizer?

Ron Schilling:

Well, it's a product, it varies from year to year. We run soil samples and I rely on Nutrient to set that up for me and we put down some [inaudible 00:08:07] and like I said, we use this Black Label. I've become a big fan of Black Label, a product that Nutrient has and I think I'm seeing some benefits from it.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. What are some of those benefits? It sounds like it's working really well for you.

Ron Schilling:

Well, we first started using... I mean, I just see a more vigorous plant growth starter. The plants just seem more vigorous and they seem more healthy. We got a better root mass, so I'm hoping it's working. And from what I'm seeing, I think it is. I think it's working great. So like I said before, we work through our nutrient place and they do all our soil samples for us, and we go through the program and see where we are. The biggest thing that we're always short on out here is [inaudible 00:08:49]. And so we always have to build [inaudible 00:08:52], but you can only do so much. It's an expensive product to use and we're working in some more micronutrients.

I think we're learning a lot about corn health and how it works and there's always... Back in the early days, when I first started farming, it was simply just threw all 200 pounds and highers and threw out little of this, threw out a little of this, and we really didn't know what we were doing. I think now we're more highly educated and we rely on our crop consultants, and we're seeing the advantage. I know we're raising a lot more corn with a lot less irrigated water than we ever did before. And I know with seed varieties all those things, but technology has really, really helped and glad I'm living long enough to see this.

Noah Newman:

Yeah. Technology, it's taken off every year. It seems like something new comes out in the precision ag industry as it relates to strip-till.

Ron Schilling:

Yes, it does. Every year we're learning something new and I'm trying for an old guy. I'm trying to stay updated as much as I can, but I have to rely on other people and that's okay. I'm not scared to ask questions.

Noah Newman:

Yeah, I think a asking questions, that's what a lot of people say when they give advice to new strip-tillers or what they should do when they're first starting out. They should just seek advice from other people, but what are some of the big pieces of advice you would give to new strip-tillers?

Ron Schilling:

Well, I don't think it's bad to... Before you invest a whole bunch of money in iron is to work with somebody else, maybe have somebody else come in and help you and then work off of their knowledge. Because the guys that have been doing it for a long time, they know some secrets. You got to get that stuff. Soil texture is just perfect. It needs to be just perfect when you run a strip-till. And sometimes we always run sometimes a little bit too wet, but one of the things we've noticed, we're running cattle on these stock before we strip-till. I know Steve's always said, man, these things work out nice 'cause we've gotten rid of a lot of that trash down the row. Those cows have done a good job cleaning stuff up and it looks so good when they get done running the strip-till machine out through those fields.

Noah Newman:

Yeah, absolutely. I know the governor of Kansas mentioned you guys in her State of the State Address, giving you guys a shout-out for your conservation practices and switched to strip-till. I'm just curious, what was your reaction when you learned about that?

Ron Schilling:

Well, we were pretty honored. So the governor... The State of Kansas right now, we're trying to conserve as much as of the [inaudible 00:11:32] as we can. And somehow we got on her list and described what we we're doing, because my granddaughter will be generation... Or my grandkids will be generation number seven off of this farm. So when we talk about sustainability, it's this farm. We've tried to stick around this long and we're trying to conserve our water for our future generation and water's very, very critical. The only thing more important than water on our farm, are our grandkids. And so with the two working together, I think strip-till's helped conserve water and hopefully we can continue this farming in the future for many more generations.

Noah Newman:

Yeah, I love to hear that. I mean, it's really cool to see your motivation and laying the groundwork for your grandchildren. And then in terms of the water conservation from how much strip-till's help with that, can you think of any data or story as to that illustrates just how much strip-till has helped in the water conservation department?

Ron Schilling:

Well, I don't have... A lot of guys do a lot of number work, and [inaudible 00:12:42] can talk to them, that shows how much. But I can remember when we first started farming, you just open up the gates and pour out as much water as you could pour out. Nobody really kept track of it and a lot of it got wasted. Now we go through drop nozzles. We're able to grow a really good... We still need help from Mother Nature. I mean, there's no doubt about that, but the added water that we're putting on a crop is a lot less and we're harvesting a lot more bushels than we used to.

Noah Newman:

That'll wrap things up for this week's edition of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast. Before we go, I want to let you know about the National Strip-Tillage Conference, the 10th anniversary edition coming to Bloomington, Illinois this summer. It's August 3rd and 4th. Mark your calendars, we would love to have you there. We're putting together the speaker lineup as we speak, have a lot of great speakers that are going to be joining us, so we're really excited about it.

Head to our website, striptillfarmer.com to learn more. Or register, we have those early registration rates currently underway. So definitely take advantage of those. Until next time. For all things strip-till, head to striptillfarmer.com. Thanks to our sponsor, Yetter Farm Equipment. Thanks to Ron Schilling. My name's Noah Newman. Have a great day.