Strip-till generated plenty of buzz at the 2023 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill. Even longtime no-tillers were interested in learning more about the practice.

“I’m excited to look at some of the strip-till bars here,” says central Illinois no-tiller Dave Brown. “With the highly productive soils in this region, I think strip-till could be a win-win for many farmers around here.”

“Strip-till is getting hot, and there are a lot of folks looking at it who have never done so before,” says Jonathan Spence, sales manager for Schlagel Mfg. “We had guys from Belize come to our booth asking about our Rapid-Till machine that Alex Harrell used to break the soybean yield record this summer in Georgia.”

Attendees hoping to see the latest strip-till innovations got their money’s worth. Head to StripTillFarmer.com/media/videos for a look at everything our cameras captured at the show. Here’s a rundown of the top products we saw for the first time. 

New Toolbars from Zimmerman & Vulcan

Vulcan Equipment showcased a new 24-row toolbar, while Zimmerman Mfg. debuted its new 16-row toolbar just a few booths down. Customer demand for narrower transport options were a driving force behind the development of both toolbars. 

“In the past, we only sold individual row units, and people had to build their own bar if they were looking for narrow transport,” says Don Slagel, vice president of Vulcan Equipment. 

“We came up with a front fold version of this 16-row toolbar, with a width for traveling down the road at just under 13 feet, as compared to the 19 feet we had on our previous model,” says Dan Guenther, business development representative for Zimmerman. He adds that a 24-row version of the toolbar will be available soon.

Yetter & Fast Ag Speed Up Strip-Till

We got our first look at the new Fast DuraPlacer strip-till toolbar with Yetter Strip Freshener Cab Control (CC), the result of a collaboration between Fast Ag Solutions and Yetter Farm Equipment. The 24-row toolbar can cover up to 60 acres per hour.

“Our goal with this machine is to increase the speed and efficiency of each strip-till pass,” says Andy Thompson, Yetter AOR manager. “The CC will give the operator the ability to make adjustments from the cab, which will speed up the process because they won’t have to get out much. It runs 8-10 mph and can apply liquid or dry fertilizer.” 

Lynx System Increases Product Capacity 

Speaking of increased efficiency, that’s what Lynx aims to achieve with its new high-flow air fertilizer delivery system. The 3-inch hosing system for 24-row strip-till feeds into a fully adjustable splitter that’s dividing into 2-2.5-inch lines, ensuring the product is equally applied to both rows. The system increases product capacity from around 750 pounds per acre maximum to just over 1,000 pounds per acre at 5 mph, and it has larger nozzles to reduce plugging, says Lynx owner Lance Glendenning. 

Harvest International Unveils LaserTill 1

Harvest International introduced attendees to LaserTill 1. The new strip-till row unit has parallel linkage with tapered bushing assembly, row cleaners with hydraulic downforce, a coulter, a mini shank with the ability for dry or liquid fertilizer applications, berm building discs and a packing wheel at the end. The company plans to demo LaserTill 1 across the U.S. this fall and spring before it’s expected to hit the market in 2024. 

“We’ll be getting a lot of good feedback in different markets this fall,” says Dustin Friesen, Harvest International sales director. “It works great in Iowa, but as we’ve learned on the planter side of things, what works in Iowa might not work so well in Pennsylvania or North Dakota. We’re excited to get these in the dirt in a lot of different places.” 

Clarity for Strip-Tillers 

Precision Planting’s Clarity blockage monitoring system offers high-definition visibility into strip-till bars, air seeders, box drills and dry fertilizer applicators. Precision Planting product specialist Josh Stoller, who is also a strip-tiller, says Clarity can be a huge money saver for strip-tillers.

“Clarity’s blockage monitors reveal when something is partially plugged,” Stoller says. “There’s a lot of money tied up into strip-till, and with fertilizer prices as high as they are, we want to know what and how much we’re applying better than we ever have before.”