Strip-tilled corn after soybeans yielded more 17.6 bushels per acre more than no-tilled corn in 2009 in head-to-head comparisons of five hybrids on-farm trials a the Conservation Cropping Systems Project near Forman, N.D.

Strip-till lost the bragging rights about yields to mulch-till in a 4-year, onfarm study conducted in Illinois. But profits from strip-till topped thos of mulch-till and no-till in the study.

With everyone from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to the mainstream media and celebrity chefs touting locally grown food, growing and selling sweet corn to city dwellers who pay $6 or more for a dozen ears may be a profitable niche market for strip-tillers.