Tom Muller
Windom, Minnesota

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Location: Windom MN

Crops: Corn, Soybeans, Spring Wheat

Acres: 911

Practices: No-till, Strip-till, Cover Crops, Grazing Corn Stalks

 

Why: A number of years ago, Tom learned that he liked to combine drilled beans. Following that he discovered that no-till beans saved him a lot of time and labor. From there he continued to work on improving his management of his crops and soils using strip-till for corn, no-till beans, and cover crops.
 

Social: Tom farms with his brother, sharing equipment and labor.
 

Economic: Tom sees that his way of farming gives him big labor-savings in fall and spring, since there are no additional field operations in the fall after harvest other than getting everything done for corn in a single pass with the strip-till rig. Tom believes that cover crops help transition the soil from conventional tillage to no-till in a shorter time, approximately one year when using cover crops versus five years without cover crops. 

 

Environmental: Tom sees the greatest environmental benefit being his fields have no ponded water after heavy rains. His fields infiltrate water rapidly due to their good soil structure with abundant pore space and channels for water and air to move through the soil.