Hot off the pressers, it’s Strip-Till Farmer’s 12th annual Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study! And at first glance, strip-tillers continue to be heavy users of precision technology. 

Notably, 89% who responded to the survey will use GPS tractor auto-steer in 2025, 74% will use yield monitor data analysis and 68% will use field mapping. 65% auto-boom/nozzle shutoffs and 63% variable rate fertility. Pete Youngblut’s a strip-tiller, and he also happens to be the owner of Youngblut Ag, a precision farming dealer in Dysart, Iowa. Pete, what do you tell your strip-till customers when they’re mulling over their purchase decisions? 

“If we're not getting a return on it, is that what we really want? Some stuff is nice. I've got a truck. I made sure I had leather seats because I got a seven-year-old that makes a hell of a mess. I got my return out of leather seats. They're easy to hose down, right? But did I need the sunroof that came with it? That's kind of cool. Wife likes it, I guess. But, I don't see any return in that thing, right? So, that's what we want to look at. I'm going to get a lot of return out of a good metering system. I'm going to get a lot of return out of making sure I'm on the strip instead of off to the side. I might not get return out of having sensors that tell me whether it's blocked or not. I could, very well could, depending on what product I am. But where do I want to start and where do I want to stop? ”

Head to PrecisionFarmingDealer.com for more numbers from the Strip-Till Operational Benchmark Study. 

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