Our no-till farmer sponsored Web site Bulletin Board has been loaded lately with discussions on various topics of interest to no-tillers, from recommendations on which no-till drill is best to earthworm survival with insecticides.

Visit the bulletin board and see what other no-tillers are thinking. No-tillers can discuss ideas and techniques 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.no-tillfarmer.com, reaching hundreds if not thousands of fellow no-tillers.

A discussion on lime usage recently appeared on the bulletin board. Nitrogen use with no-till also continues to be among the hottest topics. Here’s what no-tillers had to say on both.

Too Much Lime?

We’ve been farming a cash rental farm for a number of years with the idea that each year may be the last. It’s been no-tilled at least 5 years. We recently signed a long-term lease. The pH level is in the 5.3 to 5.5 area. I’d rather not work the lime into the ground. My plan is to apply approximately 3 tons of lime with a floater truck this fall, but I’m not sure if this is too much to leave on the surface.

—Bob Cooper

ricooper@cvalley.net

Variable Rate Application

We grid tested and applied lime to a new farm this year and some areas received 8 tons per acre. Even with this large amount, not much lime was left on the surface.

I recommend that no-tillers go with a grid test and variable rate lime application. You will either save money or spend just as much…