A long-time booster of no-till and strip-till, former University of Minnesota soils fertility specialist George Rehm has been posthumously named as the Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) 2024 Distinguished Service Award honoree.

This annual award is presented to non-members who give back to the agricultural community and have demonstrated outstanding leadership efforts in education, science or public affairs relevant to agriculture. ACN and its predecessor ag editor groups have named 77 Distinguished Service Award recipients since 1947. Rehm’s family received this award on his behalf during the 2024 Ag Media Summit in Kansas City, Mo., as he had passed away in January of 2024.

Having worked with him personally and shared his fertility knowledge with growers through No-Till Farmer and the National No-Tillage Conference, I’ve had extensive knowledge as to how his nutrient management programs have been used extensively by no-tillers and strip-tillers across the country. Rehm was known for being a skilled educator and a charismatic supporter of no-till and strip-till.

Always focused and dedicated to his fertility work, Rehm started his soil career with a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University before moving to the University of Minnesota to obtain master’s and Ph.D. degrees in soil science. 

In 1969, he became a soil fertility specialist at the University of Nebraska’s Northern Regional Extension Center. In 1983, he returned to Minnesota when he became the university’s extension soil fertility specialist.

Farmers Always Trusted Him

“His nutrient management extension program was highly regarded nationally,” says Carl Rosen, who heads the University of Minnesota’s department of soil, water and climate.  “He gained the trust of farmers through his common sense and practical approaches to soil fertility issues.

“George was a prolific writer about the latest nutrient management research and fertilizer application guidelines, contributing this information to extension bulletins, popular farm magazines and recently online blogs, even in his retirement.”

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Former University of Minnesota soil scientist George Rehm was a pioneer in developing effective no-till, strip-till and ridge-till fertility programs.

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According to Rosen, Rehm had the ability to connect with farmers and make everyone feel important.

“He was always in high demand for presenting information to farmers in the Upper Midwest at numerous speaking events every year,” Rosen adds.

Much of Rehm’s research centered on iron chlorosis concerns in soybeans. Fortunately, the problem is becoming manageable today due to tolerant soybean varieties and with new products that enable growing plants to better absorb iron.

What Is Foo-Foo Juice?

A common theme of Rehm’s career was time spent debunking “foo-foo juice”—those “magical” fertilizers or compounds sold by salespeople with a smile, a shoeshine and no data to back them. After retirement, Rehm kept his research chops sharp by working as a soil fertility specialist with the Discovery Farms of Minnesota group.

Rehm was proud of the fact that many concepts touted today as being new are rooted in research that he conducted over the years. A good example is the highly popular 4R program that stresses placing fertilizer at the right rate, right time, right place and with the right source.

Recognized with numerous awards during his career, Rehm felt very fortunate to have done extensive fertility work.

“I look at all the research we conducted and recommendations that are still being used today,” he said when getting close to retirement. “I had some wonderful researchers and farmers to work with throughout my career.”

Growers who attended several of the earlier National No-Till Conferences will recall learning many no-till fertility ideas from Rehm. At the 1994 NNTC held in St. Louis, he presented “When, Where and How to Best Fertilize with No-Till" and “Fall Banding Fertilizer, Deep Banding Nitrogen Choices and More with No-Till.”

At the 2000 NNTC held in Des Moines, Rehm covered “Forget About Using Those Cost-Cutting, Yield-Reducing, Profit-Losing No-Till Fertilizer Ideas Next Spring” and “Building a Case for Nitrogen with No-Tilled Soybeans.”

Strip-Tillers Swiped Many Ridge-Till Ideas

For 6 years starting in 1991, we also published the Ridge-Till Hotline newsletter. Over this span, Rehm contributed an extensive amount of fertility recommendations and ideas for higher yields.

A big fan of ridge-till as an effective tillage system, many of his ideas have served as the forerunner of today’s strip-till fertility programs. Among these ideas were building berms in the fall or spring; deep banding nutrients into the berms; reducing compaction with controlled traffic; more effective fall placement of phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients; and finding new ways to make continuous corn work.

Numerous topics covered in No-Till Farmer articles over the years featured Rehm’s insights, thoughts and ideas on soil fertility. These included:

1. Ortho vs. poly-phosphate fertilizers

2. Avoiding compromising yields with cheaper fertilizer

3. Crop additives for no-till

4. Filling in the cracks in no-till fertility programs

His soil fertility contributions are legendary and are being used by many no-tillers and strip-tillers today.

Want More Soil Fertility Info?

For more details on Rehm’s time-tested no-till soil fertility ideas, read these three soil fertility articles published in 1998, 2000 and 2013:

Don’t Compromise Yield for Cheaper Fertilizer

The Debate Continues: Ortho vs. Poly-Phosphate Fertilizers

A New Look at Additives

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