With the hustle and bustle of spring tillage and planting behind us, we talked to a few of our SoilWarrior customers across the country to find out how things are shaping up in the field.
Curt Snyder, a first-year strip-tiller from Fulton, Illinois, tells us about his experience so far with the SoilWarrior.
Q: What type of tillage were you doing before strip-tillage?
A: Before moving to strip-tillage I was doing an inline rip on a tillage pass and applying fall ammonia with vertical tillage. My vertical tillage acres were 15 bushels per acre higher than conventional tillage in a dry year.
Q: What was your tillage plan in the spring?
A: I did not do spring strip tillage this year. I might try some sandier, lighter ground in the spring in the future. I don’t want to put the compaction out there at that time of year. I put nitrogen on the planter and sidedress the rest.
Q: Will you try anything new this fall with your strip-tillage plan?
A: I will do implement steering this fall and run vertical tillage before strip-till to help corn stalks decompose.
Q: What benefits have you seen from strip-tillage?
A: It seems like I have a lot less sidewall compaction. I estimate that fuel/labor/equipment savings with strip-till total $90-$100 per acre.
Q: What has been your experience with the SoilWarrior and ETS?
A: I thought the SoilWarrior was heavier than a competitive machine. It’s not the cheapest, but every time I’ve bought a cheap machine I’ve had to buy a new one in a couple years. I wanted to get set up right the first time and go. I just wanted all blades and a heavy machine I didn’t have to weld on all the time.
Q: What tip would you offer to future strip-tillers?
A: Set your rows to RTK the year before going to strip-tillage. Get your lines set the year before and don’t be scared of it.
Are you ready to see SoilWarrior row units in action on your farm? Contact us today for a demo.
Comment