Strip-till

Strip-Till is a technique that allows us to make a single pass through the field, where-as conventional tillage would require four to five passes. Studies have shown that a strip-till system can release 82.6% less CO2 into the atmosphere compared to other tillage practices. Strip-tilling is done in the late fall. A tractor pulls the strip-till bar over a recently harvested field and tills a narrow strip in the soil every 30 inches, leaving the rest of the field undisturbed. These strips are injected with the necessary fertilizer for the following year’s crop. These fertilizers could include, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, or Sulfur…and when Nitrogen is applied, we use a stabilizer to allow it to remain through the winter until the spring crop is planted and can use those nutrients.

In the spring, our tractors pull planters over these same patterns, using GPS and auto-steer capabilities to plant on the same exact strip where the fertilizer was applied in the fall.

Strip-Till helps us work towards carbon neutral practices & improves soil health by:

  • Decreasing the number of passes over the field - less fuel used, less compaction for the soil

  • Crop residue is left on the soil - helping prevent erosion and adding organic matter as it decomposes

  • The soil is disturbed less allowing for more microbial activity - improving soil health

  • Decreasing moisture loss - more moisture left in the soil

  • The strip warms up and dries out faster in the spring - creating a better seed bed and allowing for earlier planting

  • The less disturbed the soil is, the more carbon it can sequester

Cover Crops

Cover crops are planted in the fall after harvest. Cover crops are just what they sound like, they are a type of crop planted to provide cover over ground that would otherwise be bare. Common cover crops used in Illinois are Annual Ryegrass, Radishes, Cereal Rye and Oats, among others. Crops, like trees, pull carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere to grow and flourish; planting cover crops in the fall adds to carbon sequestration at a time when the soil would normally sit bare.

Cover Crops help us work towards carbon neutral practices & improves soil health by:

  • Increasing organic matter in the soil & decreasing moisture loss

  • Improving erosion control and reducing water and soil runoff

  • Decreasing weed pressure - cover crops shade the soil, reducing weed germination

  • Adding nutrients to the soil - some cover crops release nitrogen back into the soil

  • Improving soil structure by reducing compaction and increasing aeration

  • Increasing soil carbon sequestration - increasing photosynthesis on land that would have otherwise sat idle

Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture aims to increase productivity while decreasing inputs. New technology is the biggest driver in the ability to increase precision. On our farm, we use GPS and RTK with sub-inch accuracy to track exactly where we apply our strip-tilled fertilizer in the fall so that our planters will place the seeds exactly on the row. This allows the crop to maximize fertilizer uptake.

GPS soil sampling allows us to get a picture of field fertility in smaller management zones. This allows us to target nutrients where they are needed and avoid over-applying where they are not.

GPS agronomic imaging allows us to see where stress may be occurring in a field, anything from excess moisture to dry spots to weed or pest pressure.

Crop Rotation

Crop rotation is a practice of alternating crops from year to year on a field. On our farm, we use a rotation of corn and soybeans. Not only does this rotation help increase yield and productivity, it helps to reduce insect, weed, and disease pressure without additional chemical controls.

Crop rotation helps us work towards carbon neutral practices & improves soil health by:

  • Increasing soil fertility & specific nutrient levels as each crop absorbs/releases nutrients differently

  • Increasing organic matter from the differing crops

  • Decreasing pesticide use - Planting the same crop year after year allows pests to flourish, changing the rotation gives natural disease and pest control

  • Decreasing fertilizer use

  • Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions

Solar Power

The wonderful thing about solar power is that it is truly a renewable energy source. On our farm, we utilize two 10,000 watt solar arrays to decrease our energy consumption.