2020 was anything but typical. But for farmers who got an early start on planting, managed to navigate extreme weather and put down the right fertility, it turned out pretty great. Especially for those who were able to capitalize on improved crop prices and earn top placements in the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Yield Contest.
For Janette Veazey-Post a New York farmer and one of the owners/operators at Lamb Farms, sustainability is a driving force behind their success. In fact, she attributes their desire to reuse, repurpose and do more with less to helping them become more efficient and profitable each year.
David Hula is no stranger to breaking yield records. The Virginia farmer has topped the NCGA National Corn Yield Contest five times since 2003 in the strip, min, mulch, ridge-till irrigated category. The previous world record of 542 bushels per acre, set by Hula in 2017, has been shattered by his 2019 yield of 616.1953 on ground he strip-tills with the SoilWarrior.
If you’re young and progressive, you can identify with this farmer. He was chosen as a 2016 4R Advocate by the Fertilizer Institute for his focus on nutrient stewardship. Since then, he’s sought out more practices and innovations that help him achieve the goals of 4R Nutrient Stewardship. He’s been using strip-till on his eastern Iowa farm since 2018. He has a passion for sharing what he’s learned with other farmers, like you. In fact, he hosted the 2019 Iowa 4R Field Day on his farm. We had the opportunity to ask him some questions about his farming operation and practices this past spring. See what he had to say - meet Darin.
Purchasing new farm equipment takes time and consideration. Equally important is finding an operator for your new piece of equipment. At Environmental Tillage Systems (ETS), our customers often tell us one key to their success is having a skilled operator for their SoilWarrior.
Dan Coffman isn't just a customer who runs a SoilWarrior. Coffman adds to his SoilWarrior experience by sharing updates from his operation on social media regularly.
Many Environmental Tillage Systems customers are interested in learning more about strip-tillage practices, even after they purchase a machine. We caught up with Ron Frankenstein and Darin Stolte at National Strip-Tillage Conference to ask them about their experiences at the conference and running a SoilWarrior.
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 ETS team joined over 200 strip-till enthusiasts in Bloomington, IN at the beginning of August to share best practices for soil health at the National Strip-Till Conference. Of the many agronomists, consultants and farmers that presented at the conference, we are featuring four on our Defending the Land blog. Read on to learn about their strategies for improving soil.
The SoilWarrior with rolling coulters works well for Groholske; it rolls over rocks rather than pulling them to the surface.
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.
A 13-year strip-till farmer from Palmer, Nebraska, Mike Thede has been using a SoilWarrior on his corn and soybean operation for 6 years. He tells us about his fall tillage practices, his recent trial with cover crops, strip-till challenges unique to sandy soils, and his secrets to strip-tillage success.
