Articles by Ian Gronau

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Early Strip-Till Returns Encourage Experimentation

After early success with strip-tilled corn, Delaware farmer Brad Ritter began developing a strategy to strip-till black-eyed peas with surprising results.
Harbeson, Del., farmer Brad Ritter, converted from no-till to strip-till on his 1,000-acre family farm. He’d long thought that no-till was the most logical method of farming his sandy soil, but he lamented the idea that a portion of his broadcasted fertilizer probably ran off to the Delaware Bay, rather than into the root zone of his crops.
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Acclimate
Starting Out in Strip-Till

An Innovative Strip-Till System Can Overcome Climate, Soil Challenges

Minnesota farmer Lance Petersen shares how he shed his strip-till training wheels by improvising equipment solutions to accommodate his sandy loam soils.
Lance Petersen and his father Chuck have only been strip-tilling on their 750 acre farm in Rush City, Minn., since 2011, but they’ve already seen the practice weather the best and worst conditions they can imagine.
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3 Strip-Tilling Tips From a ‘Regenerative Agriculturist’

Minnesota farmer Rod Sommerfield has found a great ally in strip-till as he works to return his farm’s soils to the nutrient level and health they saw 150 years ago.

One thing Mazeppa, Minn., strip-tiller and no-tiller Rod Sommerfield isn't short on is ambition. As a strong proponent of regenerative agriculture, his hopes for the future of the farm that's been in his family since 1892 are bold. Rod and his son Rick now manage the farm, and they've zeroed in on a goal to ramp down inputs.

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Refining Residue Management and Cover Crops in a Strip-Till System

The Sass family from Streator, Ill., are veteran strip-tillers, but adding cover crops and more sophisticated residue management practices have further improved their productivity.
With the better part of two decades of strip-tilling under their belts, the Sass family in Streator, Ill., could be considered veterans of the practice. On their 2,600-acre farm, many of the methods they employ are tried and true, but they have a flair for innovation and are constantly running tests to build upon their best practices.
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Mike Petersen Dig

Looking at Strip-Tilled Corn From the Roots Up

Veteran agronomist Mike Petersen, offers his hard won conclusions about strip-tilled corn’s root structure.
Mike Petersen dug his first soil pit 34 years ago. More than 1,500 digs later, he has determined that strip-till and accurate nutrient applications can achieve 300-bushel corn more efficiently and affordably than conventional tillage.
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Managing Inputs & Residue on High-Yield, Strip-Tilled Corn

Strip-tilling and variable-rate practices revolutionized Illinois farmer, Kevin Kennedy’s practices. But each change requires some fine-tuning for peak results.
Kevin Kennedy has shaken things up on his 3,200-acre farm in Walnut, Ill., over the last few years. He switched from conventional tillage to strip-tilled corn 3 years ago and did the same for soybeans last year.
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Starting Out In Strip-Till

10 Bankable Takeaways from the National Strip-Tillage Conference

The 2015 event showcased cutting edge techniques used by top practitioners for attendees to take home to put into practice in their strip-till operations.
Building on the success of the inaugural event in 2014 the 2nd annual National Strip-Tillage Conference, held Aug. 5-6, featured more than 20 presentations and 30 roundtable discussions. The event, held in Iowa City, Iowa, brought together a diverse group of top strip-tillers, consultants and researchers who shared experience-based tips and techniques that both veteran and recent adopters of strip-till can put to work immediately in their operations.
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Working to Perfect a Spring Strip-Till System

The Rebout farm in Janesville, Wis., adopted strip-till 15 years ago and constantly experiments to streamline a one-pass spring system.

Some farmers see switching to strip-till as a leap of faith. Luckily, for the Rebout family in Janesville, Wis., it was a gamble that paid off both immediately and in the long run.


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Spreading out the Strip-Till Workload to Maximize Productivity

Princeton Ill., strip-tiller Jim Rapp capitalizes on the benefits of both fall and spring strip-tillage with a flexible approach and timed fertilizer applications.
Farming in Princeton, Ill., with his sons, Nick and Ben, Jim Rapp re-adopted strip-tilling about 4 years ago, after a brief trial in the 1990s prior to the development and widespread adoption of GPS navigation.
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Nutrient Management

How High-Yield Strip-Tillers are Managing Nitrogen After a Wet Spring

Many farmers recovering from a punishing rainy season may be starting to wonder how their nitrogen programs fared. Three strip-tillers share their experience-based best practices.
In some respects, strip-tillers who band fertilizer in their strips enjoy a distinct advantage in terms of nitrogen (N) management over other tillage practices. After an exceptionally rainy spring, many farmers throughout the country may be starting to worry about N that may have washed away.
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