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Aplington , Iowa | I think it depends on what you want to do, your soils, and your situation. 'Here', we used to do fall strip till for 10 years. It worked very well, but we didn't own the machine, just worked with the owner to get his and ours done along with some custom work. The owner decided he didn't want to do anything but his own. So, we were left with a decision on what to buy, if anything. We ended up with a Dawn rig that we run in the spring. The main reason we went this route was because Dad and i don't have the labor or time in the fall to get strips done because of other commitments during that time frame. I was skeptical of switching to spring, but I have to say that i am very pleased with the results.
But, that is 'here'. We have enough labor in the spring to make it work. If you dont have two people to run a strip till rig and a planter, it could be tough. Our soils tend to work well with either spring or fall. I like the idea of getting the fertilizer down in the fall. I like the idea of moving residue aside and getting a berm in the fall to warm up early in spring. I also like the flexibility spring strips give me in changing cropping plans over the winter. I like the way our spring strips are mellow and getting the residue pushed aside right in front of the planter.
There isn't one answer for everybody. It really has to be about what will work for your farm. | |
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Striptill: spring vs fall
