Posted November 12, 2025 | By: Nutrien Ag Solutions
THE FARMSMART PODCAST: EPISODE 68
Success Through Agronomic and Economic Resilience
True on-farm success comes when growers can bridge the gap between agronomy, economics and innovation in the field. On this episode of the FARMSMART Podcast, hosts Dusty Weis and Dr. Sally Flis revisit conversations with Dave Sender, Regional Sales Manager at Environmental Tillage Systems, and John Maman, Nutrien Financial’s Senior Director, North America to explore how agronomic efficiency and economic strength build lasting success in a changing industry.
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Strip-Till: The Best of Both Worlds
For nearly two decades, Environmental Tillage Systems has been perfecting the Soil Warrior, a strip-tillage system that helps growers combine productivity and stewardship.
Strip-till improves soil aggregation, water infiltration and nutrient placement efficiency. By applying fertilizer directly in narrow strips, growers deliver nutrients precisely where roots need them, reducing costs, waste and environmental impact.
Soil Health Starts Below the Surface
The last decade has brought dramatic improvements in fertilizer technology and data-driven farming. Soil Warrior integrates seamlessly with modern tractors and monitors, allowing growers to manage dry or liquid applications with precision. That adaptability means smarter nutrient use, fuel savings and measurable gains in fertilizer efficiency.
“When I started, we were changing sprockets to adjust fertilizer rates.
Fast forward to today, with ISOBUS systems, we have the ability to basically plug into really any tractor.”
Dave Sender, Environmental Tillage Systems
Healthy soil is at the heart of strip-tillage. Sender says growers transitioning from conventional tillage often notice rapid improvements, including better water-handling capacity, earthworm activity and resilience against both drought and flooding. Many growers are now integrating cover crops into their systems, using Soil Warrior add-ons or even their own custom modifications. “If you can think of it, there’s probably somebody doing it,” Sender says. “The growers get really creative.”
There’s no single “best” time for strip-till. Whether applying in fall or spring, growers tailor their approach to local conditions. Regional preferences differ too. Liquid systems dominate in the East, while dry systems lead in the Midwest. Increasingly, farmers are combining both for full-season fertility strategies. Ultimately, strip-till is about flexibility. You build a system that fits your operation and your soil.
Blending Agronomy and Economics
As host Dusty Weis points out, “Agriculture isn’t sustainable if it doesn’t support a family.” That’s where Nutrien Financial comes in. John Maman, Nutrien Financial’s Senior Director, North America, defines economic sustainability as stability and growth amid uncertainty.
Because Nutrien Financial is embedded within Nutrien Ag Solutions, growers can align their agronomic plans with their financial plans, integrating crop inputs, rates and timing into a holistic farm management strategy. Nutrien Financial also partners with strategic suppliers and proprietary brands like Dyna-Gro® Seed and Loveland Products® to offer competitive rates and promotions, helping farmers manage working capital while staying flexible.
Maman emphasizes that Nutrien Financial operates with the same commitment to partnership as any trusted local lender, while backed by the reach and expertise of Nutrien Ag Solutions. Growers can even manage their applications digitally, with full visibility and secure processing. The online application not only provides our customer visual status updates of where that application is.
“We like to think that we're providing every bit of care on the front end to make sure that our growers know that we're taking the best care of their information we can from start to finish throughout the year.”
John Maman, Nutrien Financial
To hear more and explore how Nutrien Ag Solutions is driving progress, listen and subscribe to the FARMSMART Podcast.
Dave Sender
With strip-tillage, the other aspect of that is the ability to focus on and control what you're doing with your, well, really with your money as far as what you're spending on fertilizers…
John Maman
I think economic sustainability means something different to everybody. At the end of the day, we recognize that yield is the main driver for our growers.
Dusty Weis
Welcome to the FARMSMART Podcast, presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions, where every month we're talking to sustainable agriculture experts from throughout the industry.
As the leading source of insight for growers on evolving their sustainability practices while staying grounded in agronomic proof, FARMSMART is where sustainability meets opportunity.
We don't just talk change. We're out in the field helping you identify products, practices and technologies that bring the future to your fields faster. I'm Dusty Weis.
Sally Flis
And I'm Dr. Sally Flis, Director of Sustainable Ag Programs.
And Dusty, we’ve done almost 70 episodes of this show. And one thing that I really love is that we get to have some real conversations about what’s happening across the ag industry.
Nobody is reading off of talking points and they’re giving honest opinions. Dusty, I know you guys put a lot of work, our team/your team into writing scripts and questions up and we usually just go with the flow of what comes up in conversation.
Dusty Weis
Sally yeah, I’ve gotten real comfortable watching the outlines we write go flying out the window after about the first couple of questions and you know what honestly it brings me great joy because it’s not about ticking a set of boxes, it’s about talking about what’s really happening out there.
You’ve certainly got more expertise in this field than I do, but I got to say I’m regularly surprised by some of the things we get to hear from our guests. And I know that when we talked to Dave Sender, the Regional Sales Manager at Environmental Tillage Systems, I was not expecting fertilizer rate placement and application technology to be a part of that discussion.
Sally Flis
That was a good episode, Dusty, and Dave’s company manufactures the Soil Warrior, a line of implements that enable growers to adopt strip tillage practices. And he started us out with some more background about the company.
Dave Sender
Environmental Tillage Systems, we manufacture the Soil Warrior. We've been around for, well, I think we're going close on about 20 years now...
Dusty Weis
So Dave, as the leading experts on strip-tillage… I’ve gotta say...
Dave Sender
Yes. So typically, we like to summarize strip-tillage as kind of the best of both worlds...
Sally Flis
So yeah, you brought up two items there that I would like to dive into a little bit deeper...
Dave Sender
I'll touch on the variable rate side of things first...
Sally Flis
So Dave, you touched on that nutrient use efficiency piece...
Dave Sender
That's, I always answer things with depends and it drives some people crazy...
Dusty Weis
So when it comes to strip-tillage and fertilizer applications...
Dave Sender
Absolutely. And that is the whole kind of crux of the system...
Sally Flis
So Dave, I think you mentioned it a little bit...
Dave Sender
Yes. So when it comes to cover crops, specifically with our units...
Sally Flis
No, yeah. I mean, I think you've answered it a few different ways...
Dave Sender
Yeah, no. And I mean, we've even had customers that'll...
Dusty Weis
Yeah, I’ll say this… in my experience, farmers can get real resourceful...
Dave Sender
As far as when you compare dry to liquid, it really seems to be more of a geographic situation...
Sally Flis
So when I was at the Fertilizer Institute, I got to work with the teams...
Dave Sender
So the 4R program, it really complements and ties in with what we believe as a company...
Dusty Weis
Certainly a lot of info to digest there from Dave Sender at Environmental Tillage Systems...
Dusty Weis
This is the FARMSMART Podcast, and I’m Dusty Weis, along with Sally Flis.
Sally Flis
And Dusty, we talk to a lot of different groups about Sustainable Ag...
Dusty Weis
Yeah Sally, I don’t want to break our arms patting ourselves on the back...
John Maman
I think economic sustainability means something different to everybody...
Sally Flis
John, what does Nutrien Financial offer that can help a grower achieve...
John Maman
We offer a lot. I think it's first important to note that we're embedded within Nutrien Ag Solutions...
Sally Flis
I'm going to throw an extra question in here...
John Maman
Yeah, so Nutrien Financial has really existed in its fullest name for the past five years...
Sally Flis
John, to circle back to what you mentioned earlier...
John Maman
I would hope that we're leveraging all of our resources and our expertise...
Sally Flis
Yeah, and we try and talk about working with a grower...
John Maman
I would add that you could do all of those things right and still have a worry...
Dusty Weis
John, in that vein, I know that the financial products often get a lot of the spotlight here...
John Maman
Well, first off, it's important to know that you're surrounding yourselves with the right individuals...
Dusty Weis
That is going to conclude this episode of The FARMSMART Podcast...
