The work of Dr. Alison Bryan, Case IH Tillage Research Agronomist, and Lily Cobo, Case IH Planter Research Agronomist, is yielding results. The dynamic duo is often on the speaking roster at farm shows when they’re not working diligently behind the scenes on agronomic research.
Bryan grew up on a small farm and knew she wanted to be involved in agriculture from an early age. She studied crop and soil sciences at Illinois State University and later did doctoral work at the University of Illinois. Cobo grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago. While she didn’t have early plans to be involved in agriculture, she absolutely fell in love with soil science when she took soil classes at Iowa State University.
The two women formed a symbiotic partnership at Case IH and are known as the Soil Sisters because they complement each other well.
“The relationship speaks to how we do our soil plots and think about our equipment because we’re looking at both planter metrics and tillage metrics,” says Cobo in this video.
The women spend a great deal of time doing research in the field and consider their work an important mission. “We are agronomically validating our equipment,” says Bryan. “In other words, we’re making sure the equipment does what the farmer expects it to do agronomically.”
Some may be surprised to learn that an equipment company has agronomists, but it makes perfect sense to Bryan and Cobo. “We want to make sure the integrity of our tool is there in the research,” says Bryan.
Bryan’s research data has been incorporated into new equipment designs at Case IH, such as the blades on tillage equipment. Cobo’s research on planters has also yielded design improvements.
“Planters address a lot of different crops, like peanuts, sugar beets, corn and soybeans,” she says. “I interact with a lot of different customers around the country who deal with a lot of issues like soil or residue. The feedback from the customers is then brought back to the team.”
One example of a design improvement supported by Cobo’s agronomic research in 2024 was the development of a new closing wheel arm that will help farmers manage rocky conditions. The updated design was trialed in two locations with rocky soil and tested at a range of closing pressures. The results from these trials were critical in confirming the appropriate setting of the closing disks on the new arm and ensuring that the new design did not disrupt soil/residue flow, which could alter seed placement.
Cobo also examined the impact of planting speed on dry fertilizer application and found the results very promising. “Typically, we see farmers who are applying dry fertilizer planting at about 5-5.5 MPH. In this case, we were able to plant up to 8 MPH without any real impact on dry fertilizer placement integrity, which is great news as far as planting efficiency!”
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Future Needs
The Soil Sisters are looking at what farmers will need in the future. Currently, they’re examining how equipment might impact carbon intensity scores, and how to best utilize cover crops to provide options for using less synthetic fertilizer.
Among several of the research trials Cobo has planned for this spring is a project focused on cover crop termination. Cover crops planted last year will be terminated both prior to planting and after planting to evaluate the impact on the incoming soybean crop. Planter performance will also be assessed to further understand any challenges that might be encountered by farmers who work in these conditions.
Cobo also has several projects that she is implementing in tandem with Bryan to help zero in on the tillage and planter relationship and the concept of the full agricultural cycle.
Bryan and Cobo agree that the work is rewarding. “We’re actually helping farmers, and that’s a great feeling,” says Cobo. “It’s not just a feeling, though — you actually have the data to show that it works.”
