Cover crops are the turbocharger of a no-till operation, but scientists and growers alike are still researching and fine-tuning how covers fit into crop rotations.

With only 300 acres to work with, I have to do everything possible to drive production and justify farming a relatively small piece of ground.

The steady growth of no-till farming in the Chesapeake Bay areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia has become a classic example of putting conservation farming methods to work to help save a major natural resource.

Having his own strip-till unit to put down pre-plant nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for corn was an idea that always bubbled on the back burner for Fred Abels. The Holland, Iowa, no-tiller thought he could incorporate just such a home-built unit into his current no-till operation.

Change is the only thing that stays the same in our no-till operation. That old saying describes our strip-till system perfectly.