Two provinces and thousands of kilometres apart, farmers Dean Toews and Mark Brock run surprisingly similar strip-tillage systems. The benefits are similar, too, even with substantially different soil types and weather conditions, as these farmers share on this episode of The Agronomists. From lessons learned, to equipment choices and fertility management, learn more about the… Read More
Tillage destroys soil structure, cuts organic matter and decreases soil water infiltration. If that’s the case, reducing tillage makes sense, right? But the decision is not that simple, says Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota soil and tillage extension specialist. In her presentation at the virtual Ontario Agricultural Conference, DeJong-Hughes notes that there’s no hard and fast… Read More
When it comes to planting soybeans, is spring tillage necessary? Can no-till soybeans handle the challenge that a cool, wet spring and heavy corn residue can throw at them? With 2020 in the books, it’s time to dig into some harvest data and find some answers to these questions. On this episode of Soybean School,… Read More
When it comes to gauging the success of management decisions, it’s important to run more than one replication in a trial — observing differences is a great way to decide on what might deserve a closer look next year. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson shares some of the plot results that… Read More
Keep your soil covered, do as little tillage as possible, maintain a living root system 365 days a year, and fit it all into an economic model that makes money: this is sustainable soil health. It’s a challenge, for sure, but it’s one Dresden, Ont., farmer Woody Van Arkel is happy to tackle. On this… Read More
Sometimes, when you’re doing things a little differently, you just have to build what you need instead of buying it. Greg Vermeersch and his team at VanMeer Farms at Courtland, Ont., modified a planter frame to custom build a 32-row strip tiller unit. It’s a fair bit of engineering, and on this episode of The… Read More
Does timing matter in strip till? Will corn planted into fall-made strips out-yield spring strips? That’s just one of many questions corn growers are asking as strip tillage gains popularity as a reduced tillage option that delivers the benefits of conventional tillage, says Ben Rosser, corn lead for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and… Read More
Strip tillage for corn continues to gain momentum as more growers cultivate strips to reduce total tillage and place seed and fertilizer in soil that warms faster prior to planting. But what about weed control? How do growers keep yield-robbing weeds at bay in these cultivated strips and optimize the potential of the growing environment… Read More
Can twin-row soybeans flourish in a strip till world? That’s a question Maizex Seeds’ agronomist Greg Stewart explores with Woodstock, Ont., farmer Wes Hart on the latest episode of The Sharp Edge on RealAgriculture. Hart is a firm believer in the benefits of no-till corn, but he and his father, Doug, have never been satisfied… Read More
Is there a marriage to be made between precision agriculture and strip tillage in corn? That’s a question Maizex Seeds’ agronomist Greg Stewart and Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin tackle on the first episode of The Sharp Edge, a new video series debuting on RealAg, brought to you by Maizex Seeds. In the months ahead our… Read More
One of the big benefits of strip tilling corn is the ability to place fertilizer directly into the berm or strip for greater nutrient efficiency. But as growers rotate out of strip-tilled corn, how can they assess the overall fertility of a field where nutrient placement was concentrated in specific areas? On this edition of… Read More
Part of the attraction of strip till corn is the ability to cultivate strips in the fall and place fertilizer. It makes for less work in the spring when the field work window is compressed. Those fall strips in heavier soil also help warm the planting zone. But what about fertility — how does corn… Read More
Strip till corn is helping Mark Brock build a winning management system for his Staffa, Ont., farm. Brock started strip tilling back in 2015 with the objective of integrating manure from the farm’s chicken operation into a system that would help manage compaction, and further improve soil organic matter with the addition of cover crops…. Read More
This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word tackles some timely topics, such as weed control, soybean management, corn challenges, and applying fusarium. Have a question you’d like Johnson to address? Or some yield results to send in? Disagree with something he’s said? Leave him a message at 1-888-746-3311, send him a tweet (@wheatpete), or email him at [email protected]ulture.com…. Read More
Strip tillage in corn is growing in popularity in Ontario, but we don’t often see the tillage strategy employed in soybeans. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes us to a strip-tilled field, which features twin row, 7.5-inch soybeans planted on 30-inch centres. In the field, Cowan’s bother, Larry… Read More
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