Currently all of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky are on track to have N deficiencies, along with most of Illinois and Michigan and the southeastern half of Missouri.

The two winter annual weed species producing the purple patches in no-till fields around the Midwest are henbit and purple deadnettle.

It was with the best intentions that a few of us at the No-Till Farmer offices planned to drive down to Illinois this week to see no-tillers in action. We heard last week that some no-tillers might have been about halfway done with putting corn seed in the ground.

Corn is projected to be more profitable than soybeans, and we'll see how farmers react to these profitability differences as they make their acreage decisions.

A recent study shows that the most heavily tile-drained areas of North America are also the largest contributing source of nitrate to the Gulf of Mexico, leading to seasonal hypoxia.

University of Illinois researchers say corn response to sulfur may be more common than in the past.

llinois corn yielded less than expected in most areas in 2010, and corn following corn was particularly hard hit.

Densities of volunteer corn in this year’s soybean crop — at least in Illinois — are perhaps as high as any time in recent memory.

The increased use of no-till farming since the 1980s, and the increased use of glyphosate-resistant crops since 1996, has significantly turned farmers into environmentalists. Less soil has eroded, less chemicals have been applied, and less fuel has been used because of significant changes in farming practices.