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Aberdeen MS | When one is interested in a change, you have to start somewhere. That starting point is not going out and investing $XX,000 "just to see"!!!!!!!!!!!
I think your's is a perfect way to take that initial plunge. You try to duplicate the system as best you can to what is accepted practice of that system and then compare. You say IF I had the right equipment what is the comparison. Can the system return what is needed to improve the net return over what I am currently doing??? Thus, adding the "extra cost" of a triple pass as you did is a moot point. If an improvement can be made without the correct equipment, theoretically, the right equipment will be better yet.
Too many are "missing the point" on what you are trying to find out IMO. Strip till is system, just as twin row is a system. They both give a person options to achieve a desired result.
Strip till one can reducetrips and nutrients and achieve the same yield (theoretically), twin row allows one to increase nutrients and plant spacing safely (theoretically) to achieve a higher yield. Strip till reduces inputs, twin row increases (hopefully) final output. Both increase the net profit in the end, if everything else remains the same in a "perfect year". Is reducing nutrients fair to compare to "full rate"? It depends. If it is the final end you are interested in, yes it is fair. If you are only interested in one part along the way, no it is not. System comparison vs input comparison.
In the 30 years I've been involved in the business on both sides of crop production, someone is ALWAYS going to have detrimental things to say of how a neighbor practices farming. I say practicing because NO ONE ever masters the art consistently year after year. The ones most critical are just afraid someone is going to "show them up". Nothing more.
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Twin Row Corn Experiment
