When planting is done and crops begin to emerge, no-tillers have a chance to evaluate how well their planter has performed — including whether the unit’s closing wheels are doing the job closing the seed slot.

With wet weather in recent years creating poor field conditions and delaying planting and harvesting, drainage is becoming an even more critical tool.

Sudden downtime is the enemy of any productive farmer, and the sources of trouble these days aren’t just mechanical in nature. No-tillers are fighting a pitched battle with cornstalks that are eroding or puncturing tires on their tractors, combines, sprayers and other equipment.

With grain still trading at very attractive prices, no-tillers may be able to increase their profits by adding wheat to their traditional corn-and-soybean rotation. This scenario is especially attractive in regions where soybeans can be double-cropped behind winter wheat.

The genesis of no-till on the rolling hills of R & K Farms began during the 1970s when Jay Robert Renick drove to southern Ohio to attend a field day.