Mike,

Usually more crop uniformity is a very good thing - more uniform emergence and growth means more uniform pollination and more uniform (and complete) ear fill. I believe Purdue University doing some research on the advantages of uniform pollination.

In your area of SW MN heavy standing wheat stubble may be one case where it is useful to make strips in the late summer or fall, either with or without fertilizer, esp P & K. If nothing else it breaks open a more or less black strip. The strip dries out faster in the spring yet overall moisture is conserved. In the spring you can either run the strip till bar again maybe with your N or just run the planter with row cleaners. I am a spring strip till fan whenever possible.

Good to hear that the wheat stubble helps absorb later moisture too - probably with only minimal crusting - and holds it. You were really dry for a stretch there too, weren't you?

 Best of luck. It will be interesting comparing corn yields from the strips into wheat stubble vs worked bean stubble across the road. Your experience also points out that waiting a day more isn't the end of the world, although if you can get in amd make some preliminary strips in the fall in very heavy non-baled wheat you may be ahead in the spring.

Jim at Dawn

I'll aded a photo of fall strips into heavy wheat stubble just west of you.

(Dawn Striptill 100 bu wheat img1332 8-05.jpg)

Dawn Striptill 100 bu wheat img1332 8-05.jpg (79KB - 189 downloads)