From Oakes, ND, the Quandt family has had award-winning entries in the NCGA yield contest since 1993. One secret to their recent success is strip-tillage. The farm began strip-tilling in 2001 and transitioned 95% of the farm to strip-tillage seven years ago. They have used the SoilWarrior® zone tillage and nutrient management system on their farm for the past five years.

The Quandts run a SoilWarrior 5060 equipped with the N row unit. They strip-till in both fall and spring on a wide range of soils from heavy dryland to irrigated sandy loam. Anhydrous is applied in the fall. Justin Quandt noted that most of the farm’s heavier ground doesn’t need a lot of P & K, but they apply a maintenance level as well as most of the sulfur needed for the next growing season.

They use the shank in the spring on their sandy soils as well. Justin says, “Smearing isn’t an issue, but the points do wear more quickly on sandy soils. But, I don’t have to worry about tubes plugging up with no anhydrous running.” Depending on the yield goal of the field, the Quandts will apply a straight rate of 100-110 pounds of nitrogen followed by variable rate and sidedress applications.

“We apply 20% of the nitrogen on sandy soils in the spring. Those soils will get nitrogen applied six different times throughout the year,” adds Justin. Commodity prices and weather influence those additional fertilizer applications.

Justin’s curiosity for high yield led to an on-farm experiment in 2016. “This was the first year I treated a field differently,” said Justin. “I spoon-fed a 40-acre area with $70 worth of extra inputs.” He noted that high yield doesn’t necessarily pay for itself, but the Quandts will keep making improvements. Justin plans to try twin-row in 2017, planting on each side of the strip-tilled zone to push plant population. “I’ll use existing equipment to make it work,” he said.

The Quandt Brothers farm includes many full-time family members: Walt, John, Mike, Jeff, Jim, Jason, Justin, Nathan and Stephen.

ETS congratulates the Quandt Brothers on their 2016 NCGA award-winning yields!

Category: A No-Till/Strip-Till Non-Irrigated

Justin Quandt | DEKALB | DKC45-66RIB | 270.44 bu/ac

Category: No-Till/Strip-Till Irrigated

John Quandt | Pioneer | P0533AM1^TM | 273.16 bu/ac

Download our eBook to learn more about SoilWarrior zone tillage.