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Take The Pressure Off Your No-Till Soils

Ag engineer Randy Raper offers some helpful hints for no-tillers wanting to tread more lightly for compaction prevention and management.

By Martha Ostendorf posted on September 1, 2009 | Posted in Equipment, Soil Health

Some things, like coal, do their best work under pressure; soils, however, do not. Compaction causes a laundry list of troubles, including ponding water, reduced nutrient availability, erosion, poor root development and the list goes on.

What I've Learned from No-Tilling

An Advocate Of More Conservation With No-Till

Ray McCormick wants to encourage more no-till farming and preservation of natural resources, while pushing up productivity.

By Ron Ross posted on May 1, 2009

Nothing pays better than conservation. That's the motto and mission of McCormick Farms, Inc. We run a diverse operation that has been farmed by multiple generations of our family in the Wabash Valley of southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois.

No-Tilling With A Sense Of Determination

Changes to manure handling, cover crops and planter modifications have Pennsylvania no-tillers finding success in shallow clay shale soils.

By Darrell Bruggink posted on December 1, 2008 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Nutrient Management

When it comes to no-tilling around Gettysburg, Pa., it’s quite a battle for Ed and Dan Wilkinson. While some of the land these no-tillers farm is where the most famous battle of the Civil War was fought, the battle for the Wilkinsons is taming the soils that make the transition to no-till tough.

Happy Worms Mean More Profitable No-Till Yields

Michigan producer creates a nearly perfect no-till ecosystem with the help of night crawlers.

By Mark Moore posted on July 1, 2008 | Posted in Soil Health

Jim Brushaber’s farm may not look different on the surface, but he invites you to dig a little deeper.

Frank Comments

A Different Look At Carbon

By Frank Lessiter posted on July 1, 2008

While no-tilled crops are widely considered to be among the best ways to sequester carbon, the actual amounts may actually be tied to soil type, soil drainage and soil depth.

Is Tillage OK Once Every 10 Years?

There are better ways than moldboard plowing to reduce potential phosphorus runoff in no-tilled fields, experts say.

By Darrell Bruggink posted on June 1, 2008 | Posted in Seeding & Planting

Is there a benefit to moldboard plowing a no-till field once every 10 years? A recent article, “Changing Tillage, Changing Nutrient Management,” in the Spring 2008 issue of Plant Nutrition Today suggested that continuous no-till can lead to accumulation of phosphorus (P) at the soil surface, causing higher P concentrations in runoff.

Apply The Right Amount Of Fertilizer

Soil samples and testing, and determining the amount of nutrients removed by the no-tilled crop, are just some of things you need to do when fertilizing.

By Darrell Bruggink posted on April 1, 2008 | Posted in Nutrient Management

Determining how much fertilizer to apply this spring is a lot like determining how much oil your tractor needs.

Buffer Today's Weather Extremes With No-Till Residue

Due to extreme variables with temperature and intensity of rainfall, no-tillers need to protect soils with crop residue.

By Darrell Bruggink posted on April 1, 2008 | Posted in Residue Management, Water Management

Climate change will be an interesting topic over the next several years, Jerry Hatfield says — not because the government says it is, but because it will impact farming like never before.

No-Till Notes

No Need To Be “Iffy” About Hybrid Selection

By Jim Leverich posted on February 1, 2008 | Posted in Seeding & Planting

I hope you were able to attend the National No-Tillage Conference and pick up a lot of new ideas for your farm. The trick is to pick out the high-quality ideas that will work in your system.

Is No-Till Nutrient Stratification A Concern?

At this time, it’s pretty much just an issue to be monitored.

By Adrain Johnston posted on July 1, 2007 | Posted in Nutrient Management

A common question often asked about no-till is whether any nutrient stratification occurs due to a lack of soil mixing. Many no-tillers wonder if stratification is a problem for effective crop access to soil nutrients.

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Farmer Sees 7% No-Till Corn Yield Bump with 20-Inch Rows

On this edition of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by CultivAce, longtime no-tiller Jim Leverich explains why 20-inch corn rows are paying off big time on his Sparta, Wis., farm.

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