Strip till veterans offer strategies for success

11-9-26 Tom Gillis

11-2-26 Ryan Nell

A pair of Wisconsin farmers say high fertilizer and fuel costs are driving more interest in the practice of strip till.

Tom Gillis, who’s been no-tilling and strip-tilling for over three decades on his corn and soybean operation in St. Croix County, says reduced input costs are just one benefit.

“It increases the organic matter in your soil, the aggregates and everything, so that allows it to hold more water holding capacity.”  He says, “We’ve really worked on the fertility as well.”

Ryan Nell, who’s been utilizing the practice on his Dodge County farm for eleven years, says it’s also allowed him to cut down on labor and time in the field in the fall despite the learning curve.

“Make sure you have a good GPS source. That’s just going to make your life easier.”  He says, “Don’t try to conquer the world in the first year. We tried to conquer the world in the first year, and it was a disaster. So, it probably took us five to six years to get to the point where we were comfortable.”

Gillis tells Brownfield, “I think you got to start with soil testing. You could spend a lot of money you probably don’t need to spend on unnecessary fertilizer applications.”  He says, “We took the money savings from the fertilizer and paid for the equipment to vary the rate to save even more.”

Both farmers say prioritizing construction of strips in the fall before the weather turns is also vital to making the practice a success.