Defending the Land Blog

Fertilizer isn’t just a line item today; it’s the conversation. With elevated input costs and tighter margins, each pound has to pull its weight. In 2026, strip-tillage may be experiencing its biggest adoption year ever. Higher fertilizer prices are pushing growers to look hard at every input...

In the heart of north-central Iowa, Mike Jaeger isn’t just maintaining a family legacy; he’s evolving it. As a fifth-generation farmer, Mike understands that the old ways of tilling and planting aren’t always the most efficient for today’s demands. By integrating the SoilWarrior strip-tillage...

In a world of rising input costs, it’s time to take a look at how your fertilizer is being applied. If you were handed a single saltshaker of fertilizer and told it had to feed over 300 soybean plants, you wouldn't just toss it into the wind—you’d place it exactly where it needs to go. That’s the...

As you plan for the upcoming season, equipment decisions often sit at the intersection of agronomics, efficiency and finances. For many farmers, strip-till continues to earn serious consideration; but understanding which equipment to use, how to configure the equipment and how to pay for it are...

Technology doesn’t have to be your enemy. Conducting pre-season technology checks can save you time when it's “go time.” ETS Precision Ag Manager Scott Kelsey has been on many farms across North America and Canada, facilitating machine set-ups, inspections, and in-season troubleshooting.

The term strip-till may be foreign to some, and the idea of changing a practice that has been done for many years on your farm can be mind-boggling. Until you fully comprehend that strip-till is a systematic approach and not a cure-all, you may be telling yourself every reason in the book why it...

Some have accused the SoilWarrior® of being built too tough. All SoilWarriors are built to withstand the rigors of farming in all types of soil and conditions. After all, isn’t that what you expect from your equipment? In fact, the founder of Environmental Tillage Systems (ETS) was a farmer who...

The SoilWarrior® Edge™ combines the durability, versatility and nutrient placement of a SoilWarrior with a tractor-mounted three-point system designed for primary tillage and zone freshening.

Nearly every farm has a machine (and or person)dedicated to picking rocks, whether it be a pull-type rock picker, a homemade self-propelled rock picker, or a rock bucket mounted on a front loader or skid steer. Rock picking is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and finding someone who has the time...

Elise Heckmann joined the Marketing and Communications team at ETS as the 2025 Summer Marketing and Communications Intern. We are excited to have her on our team this summer, and she is excited about all the experiences and knowledge she will gain.