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South-central Nebraska | I am going to demo a strip till rig this next week on 80 acres of no-tilled irrigated corn stubble. Our local JD dealer sells Redball strip till rigs. I did ask about the Dawn Pluribus but they have not sold this unit, only the Redball. I would be happy to hear Jims comments on the Redball verses his Pluribus. I have RTK and due to higher Hp requirements of the Redball, 15-17 hp per row, I will use a 8 row strip till followed by a 16 row planter. Company rep says the 8 row 30" unit should sell for mid $20K's. Pretty expensive implement for only 20 feet of coverage. For myself, I apply fertilizer in split applications with a DMI 16 row liquid injector. I would not be using the strip till unit as a fertilizer applicator. Strip till would only be used on my corn on corn acres.
Seems like the Dawn Pluribus is the only strip till unit recommended for fall AND spring use. I do like the design of the Dawn and have seen numerous pictures posted by Jim showing nice results. Either way, one concern I have is the soil being TOO loose in the spring. Fall would give it time to settle and firm up. I run Case IH gauge wheels, Rebounders and Dawn Curvetines on my planter and am afraid of planting in spring strip tilled loose dirt. Redball recommends only fall application any way, but tillage depth is deeper at 6-8 inches. | |
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Economic benefits of strip till
