One of the most valuable lessons David Hula learned about farming came several years ago from a towering former NFL player turned DuPont Pioneer agronomist.

He recommended Hula try a 120-day hybrid in corn, rather than his typical 104- to 114-day hybrid. Impact plots Pioneer tried on specific farms showed an average test weight of 57-58 pounds, but Hula discovered management practices that “tricked” his field into yielding 63.5 pounds.

As a perennial yield-contest champion, Hula says he’s learned to think outside of the box, and that’s what it takes for other no-tillers to break through their own yield barriers.

Hula notes that he rents 10-15 acres to seed corn companies doing advanced line trials, “so we can see some genetics and look at things on a small scale before we try to blow them up on a larger scale,” says Hula, whose family has been no-tilling continuously near Charles City, Va., since 1987.