Argyle, Iowa, grower Brian Klemme began twin-row strip-tilling corn in the spring of 2009 because he wanted to increase plant populations and spacing within rows and, hopefully, increase yields.

It makes sense to scrutinize the financial returns of precision ag technology costs, says Matt Darr, an Iowa State University ag engineer. But Darr says farmers continually remind him about the intangible benefits of using these tools that in many cases are just as important as dollars-and-cents justification.

Strip-tilling and applying manure simultaneously may make as much sense as other dynamic duos in agriculture, like corn and soybeans, ham and eggs and “rain makes grain.”

Destructive trails left by a shank and knife anhydrous applicator are fodder for no-tiller nightmares. But new low-disturbance applicators mean no-tillers can slip the cost-effective nitrogen source into the ground and leave barely a mark.