The journey from no-till to strip-till took Paul Lanpher to the machine shop. The nine-time winner of the Missouri no-till irrigated corn yield contest had some cropping ideas of his own.

When a farmer cannot find the tool he needs on dealers lots, he is likely to modify an existing implement to suit his purposes. Some even build their own machines from the ground up.

Paul Lanpher did when he couldn't locate what he needed. Lanpher and his son, Rus, grow crops on about 2,000 acres near Advance, in southeast Missouri.

The Lanphers follow a 2-year rotation: conventionally tilled wheat, followed by no-till soybeans behind the wheat, then corn planted the next year in 30-inch rows. About 75 percent of their cropland is irrigated by either center pivots or furrow irrigation.

"We had been no-tilling for several years and got along all right with it," said Lanpher. He got along better than just "all right." Lanpher is a nine-time winner of Missouri's no-till irrigated corn yield contest and placed third in the national competition.

"But I wanted something that would better clean the planting row and put nitrogen directly under the row," he added. "Also, anhydrous ammonia must be absorbed by the soil before it is available to plants. On no-till soils, regular straight-shank ammonia applicators can allow too much N to escape to the atmosphere before the soil can absorb it."

Lanpher also wanted a machine that would "fluff up" the soil in spring to allow it to dry out and warm up quickly. Still, he wanted to leave as much crop residue as possible on the soil surface. All that was a tall order for one implement, but Lanpher took his ideas to the machine shop about 4 years ago. Last year, a $4,500 farmer innovation grant from the Missouri Department of Agriculture helped with his research and development.

"I built several versions before I got one that does all that I want," Lanpher said.

The rig Lanpher calls his "strip-till dream machine" links row cleaners, a new style anhydrous application knife (called a "C-Jet") and spider-gang row builders on 30-inch centers. He also alters the equipment to apply liquid fertilizer.

The machine cleans trash out of the planting row. The C-Jet (the "C" stands for conservation) breaks up compaction and applies anhydrous in a "T" shaped pattern 7 or 8 inches below the surface. The following ganged cultivators can be adjusted to pull the soil into a low ridge.

Lanpher also modified the machine with straight shanks that rip the soil to about 14 inches deep. This machine is equipped to apply dry phosphate and potash fertilizer.

"We have several fields that were farmed with moldboard plows for years," he explained. "With this tool, we can rip through that plow layer, but still leave the soil surface covered with crop residue. Ripping works better with dryland corn; it lets moisture go down and come back up better.

"I like to clean trash out of the planting row as much as I can," he added. "I don't want to move any dirt--just straw and residue. This machine does that. The spider-gang cultivators in back help form a seedbed but leave residue along the edges of the planting row to hold soil in place."

In the past few years, Lanpher has put his Dream Machine to many uses:

• In the fall, he deep-rips hardpan soils with the straight-shank version, blowing dry P and K fertilizer into the slot created by the shank.
• In spring, he strip-tills to clean the row and apply N in a band beneath the row.
• In both operations, the machine builds low planting ridges, which allow the soil to warm and dry.
• Adjusting the spider-ganged cultivators to build a taller planting ridge also allows furrow irrigation without any other soil movement.
• By removing the row cleaners, shank and C-Jets, the machine converts to an effective rolling cultivator.

  "I have signed an agreement with Bingham Brothers [manufacturers of Lilliston rolling cultivators] to manufacture most components of the Dream Machine, and I can have them shipped to anyone," he said. "I'd be glad to help any other farmers who might want to build a similar machine. All of the attachments needed to mount on a 7x7-inch tool bar will cost about $1,000 per row. If a grower also needed a tool bar, row markers, gauge wheels and nurse-tank hitch, I can help get them at a discounted price."

  Paul Lanpher can be contacted at (573) 722-5331, or by e-mail at planpher@clas.net He also has a web site: http://users.clas.net/~planpher.

  This year, Lanpher conducted yield tests, comparing different tillage and fertilizer placement systems with both irrigated and dryland corn. Test plots were harvested Sept. 7, Lanpher measured yields with his combine yield monitor and backed up the results with a weigh wagon.

  Here are the methods tested:

  • Conventional tillage with dry fertilizer broadcast in fall and double-disked 8 inches deep. Anhydrous ammonia was injected in row middles 14 days after planting.
  • No-till with dry fertilizer broadcast in fall and anhydrous injected in middles 14 days after planting.
  • Strip-till with dry fertilizer broadcast in fall. Anhydrous was strip-tilled under rows a day before planting, which also incorporated dry fertilizer in a row strip.
  • Rip/strip-till No. 1: Soil was deep-ripped in the fall. Dry fertilizer was incorporated with the ripping procedure. Anhydrous was strip-tilled under rows a day before planting.
  • Rip/strip-till No. 2: Dry fertilizer blown into the row behind ripper in the fall. Anhydrous was strip-tilled under rows a day before planting.