Strip Till in Beets: A Growing Trend?

The employment of strip tillage — also referred to as “zone tillage” or “inter-till” — in row-crop production is hardly a new concept. Midwestern farmers have utilized a strip-till production system in corn and soybeans for a number of years, as have some cotton growers in the South.

The concept is not foreign to sugarbeet country, either. Consider these articles that appeared in The Sugarbeet Grower magazine back in the 1990s:

• March 1990 — “Rotary Strip Tiller Helps Minnesota Grower Battle Wind” — The article featured Milan, Minn., producer Kent Kanten, who utilized a 12-row Italian-built strip tiller to blunt wind erosion and protect plant stands.

• February 1995 — “ ‘Working the Zone’ in Wyoming” — This article profiled southeastern Wyoming producer Ron Schlagel and his ‘Till-N-Plant’ single-pass zone tillage tool. (As of 2009, the company Schlagel founded remains a prominent manufacturer of strip-till equipment.)

• February 1996 — “Springtime Zone” — Southern Michigan grower Bill Bierman, who began using a zone-till system in beets and corn during the late 1980s, was profiled in this article.

A number of other articles about sugarbeet growers utilizing a strip-till system have been carried in The Sugarbeet Grower since the mid-1990s — including the November/December 2008 issue, in which we focused on the increased interest in Idaho. We’ve also carried several summaries of university and USDA strip-till research through the years (beginning with one out of eastern Montana in 1996). Each of the five issues we published from November/December 2008 through April/May 2009 carried at least one article on strip-till sugarbeets. (All of them can be found on our website — www.sugarpub.com.)

Given the expanding interest in and utilization of strip till in sugarbeets around U.S. and Canadian beet regions, we’ll continue to bring you new information on this subject during the coming year. We begin that coverage this month with two articles. The first features remarks from sugar company agricultural personnel on the “how much” and “why” aspects of strip till in their respective areas, as well as their perceptions of the main challenges currently facing strip-till sugarbeet producers.

The second article highlights equipment of several companies that manufacture strip-till units and accessories. Representatives of those firms also discuss their views on key production issues pertaining to strip till.

Future issues of The Sugarbeet Grower will update you on university and USDA research, discuss equipment developments, and offer more grower profiles. — Don Lilleboe

'STRIP' TILL or 'ZONE' TILL . . . WHICH IS IT?

“Strip till” is one of those terms that can mean different things to different people.

To John Smith, “strip till” is what Midwest corn farmers tend to do — i.e., remove surface residue from the future row area so the bare soil warms up faster and provides a better planting surface. Deep tillage initially was not among the corn grower’s strip-till objectives, says the University of Nebraska-Scottsbluff ag engineer. “But later they began to shank in fertilizer in the strip, so did some tillage at four to six inches deep.” As a result, Smith observes, “their machines are designed ‘lighter’ than the machines we are now using in sugarbeet country.”

Smith prefers the term “zone tillage” for the system typically used by beet growers in western U.S. states. To him, “zone till” means intentionally performing deep tillage of six inches or more, compared to simply moving surface residue and shallow placement of fertilizer.

Comments from some of the equipment manufacturers featured in the article beginning on page 22 also reflect the different attitudes toward the use of these two terms.

One prominent manufacturer views them as meaning the same thing, with the only difference being one of semantics.

Another company does differentiate, saying “strip till” is the process of creating a four- to six-inch berm while clearing surface residue and placing fertilizer six to eight inches deep within the area of tilled soil under the berm. “Zone till, also known as subsoiling or deep ripping, involves a larger shank and is focused on breaking through compacted soil layers at the 12-inch level and deeper.”

A third suggests “strip tillage” refers to operations at a depth of 10 inches or less, with “zone tillage” meaning an operating depth of more than 10 inches.

Another company’s representative says fall strip till is six to eight inches deep, settling to a three- to four-inch berm by spring. “Zone till or ‘rip-strip’ (which are the same in some areas), is much deeper, with tillage ranging from eight to 20 inches deep in the fall and resulting in slightly taller berms,” he states.

Finally, another equipment manufacturer suggests the only variance between the two “is by definition of the inexperienced and unqualified!” He calls the strip-till/zone-till matter “the ‘potted plant’ theory — meaning fertilizing the subject plant where its roots will intercept the mass majority of applied fertilizer.”

As the experts don’t agree, here’s our solution for now: Since the term seems to be used quite generically — and also is recognized by farmers across all growing areas — The Sugarbeet Grower is using “strip till” in the articles we’re carrying on this subject. For growers who are considering the system, it would seem a good question for starting (and perhaps prolonging!) a conversation with your equipment supplier, sugar company ag staff or university researchers.