Soil Sense

Strip Till in Diverse Rotations with Jason Swede


Listen Later

Farms are complex systems and everyone’s soil health journey is different. For some, one change or new piece of equipment can really be the missing piece that starts bringing everything together. Western New York farmer Jason Swede shares about his crop rotation, how strip tillage has been a game changer for them, his experiments with things like biostrips, how he approaches cover crops, and much much more. He shares how these practices including growing a diverse mix of crops has helped him to maintain a profitable business while building healthier soils.


“Looking back at it, I think we were tilling ourselves into a position where we weren't getting good crops… We felt like we had to have that perfect seedbed. And we'd till the ground and it wasn't quite right. We'd till it again and then we'd till it again if we had to. And we were putting compaction layers in there that I don't think our crops could get through. And once we went to strip till, it completely changed everything for us. I think our roots were going deeper, getting into moisture that we weren't seeing other times of the year, and just everything kinda came together for us.” - Jason Swede


Jason grew up on the farm and although he went to school for ag business, he has always loved farming. Jason farms with his father, brother, nephew and son on 4,500 acres. It’s a diversified crop farm where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and processing vegetables like sweet corn, peas and string beans. They are also partners in a dairy operation and own an alfalfa pelletizing plant. Continuing to improve their biostrip protocols, dialing in their planting green technique and adjusting their fertility is what the future holds for their operation.


“We're working on a study that is comparing planting green with early burn down with no cover crops. It's a four year study that we're playing around with to see the differences over time. And first year I think we saw a yield drag with planting green, but it was our first time trying it and I think as time goes by, we're gonna learn some things. I'm more interested in seeing what happens with soil health planting green continually for four years to see what the long-term effect is.” - Jason Swede

This Week on Soil Sense:

  • Meet Western New York farmer Jason Swede

  • Explore his soil health journey in incorporating crop rotation, strip tillage, and experiments with things like biostrips, planting green and cover crops

  • Thank you to the Soy Checkoff for sponsoring this Farmers for Soil Health series of the Soil Sense podcast. This show is produced by Dr. Abbey Wick, Dr. Olivia Caillouet, and Tim Hammerich, with support from the United Soybean Board, the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Health Institute.

    If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there. Check out the Farmers for Soil Health website at FarmersForSoilHealth.com

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Soil SenseBy Tim Hammerich and Abbey Wick, Ph.D.

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    53 ratings


    More shows like Soil Sense

    View all
    The Ramsey Show by Ramsey Network

    The Ramsey Show

    38,637 Listeners

    AgriTalk PM by Farm Journal Media

    AgriTalk PM

    136 Listeners

    Ag PhD Radio on SiriusXM 147 by Ag PhD

    Ag PhD Radio on SiriusXM 147

    220 Listeners

    SharkFarmer Podcast by Rob Sharkey

    SharkFarmer Podcast

    364 Listeners

    Strip-Till Farmer Podcast by Strip-Till Farmer

    Strip-Till Farmer Podcast

    17 Listeners

    No-Till Farmer Podcast by No-Till Farmer

    No-Till Farmer Podcast

    88 Listeners

    Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health by Clay Conry

    Working Cows - Regenerative Ranching to Maximize Profitability and Soil Health

    423 Listeners

    Regenerative Agriculture Podcast by John Kempf

    Regenerative Agriculture Podcast

    501 Listeners

    Growers Daily by Farmer Jesse

    Growers Daily

    388 Listeners

    The Thriving Farmer Podcast by Michael Kilpatrick

    The Thriving Farmer Podcast

    299 Listeners

    A Better Way To Farm Podcast by Rod Livesay

    A Better Way To Farm Podcast

    116 Listeners

    Grain Markets and Other Stuff by Joe Vaclavik

    Grain Markets and Other Stuff

    294 Listeners

    Regenerative Ag Stories on the Grazing Grass Podcast by Grazing Grass

    Regenerative Ag Stories on the Grazing Grass Podcast

    100 Listeners

    Ranching Returns Podcast by Jared Luhman

    Ranching Returns Podcast

    203 Listeners

    XtremeAg: Cutting The Curve Podcast by XtremeAg

    XtremeAg: Cutting The Curve Podcast

    24 Listeners