Thick residue has always been thorn in the side of farmers who grow corn-on-corn. That was particularly true in states like Illinois in 2010. Although many corn yields suffered, corn-on-corn particularly took a hit. One likely reason was above-normal2009 surface residue had a toxic impact on 2010 corn. "If I can handle the residue, I can grow continuous corn," says John Obery, a Metamora, Illinois, farmer. "I want to reverse the toxic effect of old roots and stalks." Obery thinks he's found a way to do it with a twist on strip-till. Last fall following harvest, he used a modified Great Plains Turbo-Till unit and/or a modified Blu-Jet SubTiller II tillage tool. These tools slice and dice the residue and leave a planting strip for spring.
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