New Strip Till Research
Dr. Jodi DeJong-Hughes has been doing strip till research in Minnesota for the past 20 years, comparing it to conventional tillage practices on both corn and soybeans. She says the two most common questions farmers ask are, “Does strip till allow my soils to warm up and dry out in the spring?” and, “Will crop yields suffer (decrease) with strip till?” Dr. DeJong-Hughes has set up her research trials to test these farmer assumptions.
On strip till, about a 6-inch area where corn or soybeans are planted is tilled, either in the fall or spring. In standard 30-inch rows, about 80% (24 inches) remains no-till, with about 20% (6 inches) tilled. The benefits of strip till in corn include reduced soil erosion, improved soil structure, and better water infiltration.
In a four-year study in Minnesota, known for its shorter growing season and colder spring soils, Dr. DeJong-Hughes tested sandy, silt-clay, and clay loam soils, taking weekly soil moisture and temperature readings. She compared strip till with chisel plow + field cultivator and disc ripper + field cultivator treatments. The average soil temperature over four years for all three treatments was as follows: strip till was 51°F, cp+fc and dr+fc were both 50°F. None were significantly different. She also tested no-till (42°F) and vertical tillage (47°F). The strip till plots had almost identical moisture levels at 19% compared to 18% for the two main comparison treatments (cp+fc, dr+fc). However, the no-till was 32% moisture, and the vertical tillage was 25% moisture at planting.
She noted that strip till offers two advantages: drier and warmer soils at planting but wetter and cooler conditions beside the row in late summer when moisture and cooler soil conditions are more beneficial—a win-win situation.
On crop yields in Minnesota and North Dakota, the crop loss is generally overestimated for tillage practices. Over 18 site years, 44% of the time, no-till corn out-yielded or had the same yield as the other two treatments. Strip till performed better or the same 44% of the time, while the chisel plowed fields only did better or the same 12% of the time for corn. On soybeans, over 17 site years, 76% of the time, there was no significant difference in yields between strip tillage and chisel plowed fields. Most of the time, the difference was due to weather conditions rather than the tillage method used.
Based on economics, the differences are quite large. Using a baseline of 1,400 acres, comparing fuel, labor, and equipment costs showed significant differences. For strip till, the total tillage cost per acre was $49.20, compared to $68.10/acre for cp+fc and $85.20/acre for dr+fc treatments. The strip till used 1,400 gallons of fuel, compared to 1,900 gallons (cp+fc) and 3,400 gallons (dr+fc), with fuel valued at $3.50 per gallon for diesel.
On labor, strip till required 44 hours compared to 48 and 77 hours respectively in the fall. In the spring, both of the other treatments (fc) required an additional 31 hours of tillage. In the end, strip till needed 44 hours (on 1,000 acres), cp+fc used 79 hours, and dr+fc used 108 hours of labor. Labor was valued at $21 per hour.
When considering that the yields are similar for all the tillage treatments, the cost savings are significant. For 1,000 acres, the strip tillage cost is $49,200, labor costs $924, and fuel costs $4,900, totaling $55,024 per 1,000 acres. For the other two tillage treatments, total costs are $76,409 (cp+fc) versus $99,368 (dr+fc). Strip till saves $21,385 over cp+fc and $44,344 over dr+fc.
Additional benefits include soil erosion savings of 3-20 tons of topsoil per acre, valued at $25 per ton. Strip till works well on flat soils, but care should be taken on fields with slopes greater than 3-4%. Always strip on the contour to avoid ruts and gully erosion. Another advantage with strip till is a savings of 2-4 pounds of nitrogen per acre, as it allows better water infiltration, reducing nitrogen loss from denitrification due to standing water in soils with poor structure.
As farmers look for ways to cut costs and maintain or improve yields, strip tillage offers conventional tillage operators a way to transition to a cheaper, more sustainable future. Strip till is cost-effective, maintains or improves crop yields, and provides sustainable and ecological benefits.
Source: Strip Till Farmer Winter 2025.