Strip-Till Farmer Podcast

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, Westin Arseneau explains how strip-till boosts his efficiency and profitability in the challenging soils of his east central Illinois farm.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems (ETS), we catch up with the “Grandfather of Strip-Till” Rich Follmer. While growers were moving toward no-tilled soybeans in a big way during the 1980s and ‘90s, no-tilled corn acres remained somewhat flat. Many farmers feared they would have problems trying to no-till into cold, wet ground covered with residue.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems (ETS), Jodi DeJong-Hughes shares strip-till insights from over 20 years of comparative tillage research.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, Understanding Ag consultant Brian Dougherty gets to the root of compaction. Every equipment pass risks soil compaction, a problem that affects root and crop growth, water infiltration, crop fertility access and your bottom line. But many management practices exist to help fix compaction and avoid it in the future.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, technology editor Noah Newman breaks down everything you can expect at the upcoming 2025 National Strip-Tillage Conference in Iowa City.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, we pay a visit to 2025 Strip-Till Innovator Ray Flickner in Moundridge, Kan. Flickner takes us around his 1,000-acre corn, soybean and wheat operation for a look at how he’s making strip-till work in relatively challenging conditions.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, we’re headed to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the Conservation in Action Tour and a special panel discussion about the state of soil conservation.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems (ETS), we catch up with Mercer, Mo., strip-tiller Galt Porter for a conversation about his award-winning 405-bushel corn yield. The 27-year-old is the reigning national NCGA Yield Contest champion in the strip-till non-irrigated class. Porter shares the keys to his high-yielding success and reveals how strip-till has been a game-changer for his family’s operation. The 5th-generation farmer also details his nutrient management strategies, which include split nitrogen (N) applications, and goes over the top lessons learned from his national championship yield that will influence how he manages the rest of his acres.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, we catch up with Hatley, Wis., strip-tiller Mike Fischer as he gets ready to make spring strips.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Environmental Tillage Systems, we’re tackling one of the most common yield-robbing pests in the Corn Belt and beyond — corn rootworm. Ann Marie Journey, independent soil, wetland and stream health evaluator and founder of EntoVentures LLC, shares her wealth of knowledge about the “billion-dollar bug.”

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, first-generation strip-tiller James Hepp takes us inside his operation in Rockwell City, Iowa.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter, longtime strip-tiller Alan Madison shares his 8 keys to strip-till success and reveals the top takeaways from decades of on-farm trials in Walnut, Ill.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter, Charles City, Va., strip-tiller David Hula shares the keys to his strip-till success. David Hula recently captured his 13th NCGA High Yield Contest title with a 490-bushel yield in the strip-till irrigated class — nothing new for the third-generation farmer, who remains the only one to break the 600-bushel mark (2019, 2021 and 2023).

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter, we’re headed inside the 2025 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. We get the inside scoop on 4 new strip-till tools to help increase efficiency and maximize productivity in the fall and spring. Plus, Beck’s Hybrids agronomists share the latest revelations about corn root structure and 7 tips for managing tar spot — an emerging fungal disease in corn in the Midwest.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, first-generation strip-tiller Eric Reed shares his formula for high yields with a limited budget in poor soils. Eric Reed had to figure it out on his own when he started strip-tilling corn on the Tennessee/Alabama border. His first yield was 170 bushels per acre in 2015. Four years later, he was up to 260 bushels per acre. And shortly after that, he broke the Alabama dryland record with 316 bushels per acre. The Elora, Tenn., native shares the keys to his success and lessons learned along the way, including insights on equipment, compaction, hybrid selection, plant populations, fertility, planter prep and more.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, Shawn Olsen shares how he strip-tills his own 4,500-acres before custom strip-tilling another 20,000 acres in Hayti, S.D. On top of farming 4,500 acres with his dad, David, brother, Kelly and son, Carter, Shawn Olsen also runs a custom strip-till business that covers up to 25,000 acres in east central South Dakota. The strip-till calendar starts relatively early on Olsen’s farm — he starts making strips as soon as soybean harvest wraps up in late September. Olsen explains how he’s able to cover so much ground in such a short amount of time, details his approach to making strips and maximizing nutrient use efficiency in the fall and explains why strip-till is on the rise in his neck of the woods.

On this edition of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, the jovial Jon Stevens gives us a peek inside his Rock Creek, Minn., strip-till operation. Stevens began his relentless pursuit for healthy soils a little over a decade ago when he ditched conventional tillage for strip-till and no-till. In this presentation from the 2023 National Strip-Tillage Conference, Stevens details his systematic approach to building soil health using strip-till, cattle and cover crops, and shares results from on-farm trials to illustrate how farm profitability doesn’t always equate to being the highest yielder.

On this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, we’re talking custom strip-till with Kentland, Ind., strip-tiller Jesse Stoller. The Stoller family started strip-tilling in 2014 on their 4,000-acre operation, and in 2020, Stoller expanded his custom strip-till operation to about 10,000 acres. Stoller explains why the custom strip-till route could be a cost-effective option for new strip-tillers. He also breaks down the structure of his custom strip-till operation, including pricing and payback, along with entry-point advice and tips for building better berms.

On this edition of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, Andrew Reuschel details his switch from no-till to strip-till in Golden, Ill. Reuschel explains the motivation behind his transition to strip-till after decades of no-till on the family farm.

Jay Riddell and Brian Watkins help us answer the question — when’s the best time to make strips? — on this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment. Forty-five percent of strip-tillers make their strips in the fall, 33% in the spring and 21% do a little bit of both according to the latest Strip-Till Farmer Benchmark Study. Sparland, Ill., strip-tiller Jay Riddell and Kenton, Ohio, strip-tiller Brian Watkins had a conversation with technology editor Noah Newman about the pros and cons of both fall and spring strip-till during the 2024 National Strip-Tillage Conference. Riddell and Watkins also share their nutrient management strategies, strip-till truths, cover crop philosophies, lessons learned over the years and more!