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Strip farming catching on in Michigan
Bob Boettger, St. Johns, says strip cropping can increase corn yield.
With today's low crop prices, farmers can't afford to let even a small chunk of ground go unplanted. Even so, farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Continually looking for a more productive way to farm, a group of farmers in the heart of Michigan are trying their hands at strip farming -- a method widely accepted in western states and Canada.
"When production is down and prices are down, it's a double blow," says Bob Boettger, of Clinton County. "As a farmer, you learn to take the good with the bad, but this one's a challenge."
Boettger, who farms about 1,500 acres of cash crop corn and soybeans just west of St. Johns, has designated about 30 acres this year to strip farming in an attempt to increase corn yield with added sunlight. He, along with a handful of Gratiot County farmers, are gathering data as to how successful strip farming might be in Michigan.
John Misenhelder, who grows 160 acres of cash crops in Newark Township, Gratiot County, has yielded 201 bushels of corn in strips vs. the 140 bushels he gets with a solid field. This year, Misenhelder set up 40 acres of strips, alternating six, 15-inch rows of corn with 24, 15-inch rows of soybeans.
"The strips allow the outside rows to utilize more sunlight," explains Boettger, who is in his second year of strip trials. "They say you can expect an increased yield of about 25 percent. Last year we did see an increase of about 23 percent, but it's going to be hard to compare this year's data because of the drought."
Strip farmers can expect soybean yields to be down some. "But the increase in corn more than offsets it," Boettger says.
In researching strip farming, Boettger says some farmers have been able to get as much as 400 bushels per acre of corn, but the average high is about 250 bushels.
Planted in eight 30-inch rows, corn and soys alternate.
Boettger planted Roundup Ready Asgrow 11901 soybeans and DeKalb 493 Roundup Ready corn. "Except for planting and harvest, there is really no special management during the season," he said. "I spray with Roundup and harvest the way I normally would -- it just takes some planning ahead of time."
Boettger says he had envisioned planting 100 percent in strips, but this year's drought has set those plans back at least another two years.
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