Farming by the inch is what propels no-tillers Curt and Christopher Hudson closer to higher yields and increased profitability.

Getting an extra bushel or two of yield is well worth the effort and investment these days — and a double-digit boost is like hitting the lottery.

My father and grandfather started experimenting with no-till in the late 1960s with the primary goal of stopping erosion. The steep hills we farm would simply wash away when you worked them up.

Faced with expensive fertilizer prices, fickle weather and the threat of activist regulators, no-tillers are using nitrogen stabilizers and other nutrient enhancements more than ever to avoid the losses between application and crop uptake.