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Mike Bland wasn't expecting higher corn yields when he switched to strip-till 6 years ago. Having used conventional tillage and dabbling in ridge-till and no-till, the Bethany, Ill., farmer wanted a more economical approach to manage fertilizer application and improve efficiency overall on his 2,000-acre farm.

When farming gets tough, farmers get creative. Mark Muench, of Muench Farms Grain and Cattle Co., in rural Ogden, switched to strip-tillage in 2002 with the goal of building organic matter and reducing erosion to preserve the soil while still achieving maximum yields.

Although reducing tillage intensity can provide conservation benefits and cost savings, adoption of no-till and minimum till practices for corn production has been limited in some areas, particularly in the northern Corn Belt. In this environment, a shorter growing season and cold, poorly drained soils can lead to delayed planting, low and uneven emergence and lower yields for reduced versus conventional tillage. Strip-till has been proposed as an alternative minimum tillage system for areas and soils that are not well suited for no-till management.