With soybean prices eclipsing $14 a bushel recently, no-tillers are searching for any edge that could help them squeeze more out of every acre.

No-tillers logged hundreds or even thousands of miles to network, learn and inquire as the 19th annual National No-Tillage Conference (NNTC) in Cincinnati went down as a record-setting event.

Crop-protection manufacturers have rolled out a bevy of new seed treatments, herbicides, in-plant traits and biocontrol agents for 2011 that will help no-tillers tackle problems with weeds, insects and diseases.

Judging from the number of articles and discussions threads on the Web about vertical tillage, it’s clear that no-tillers still have lots of questions about what the practice is.

Mike Starkey admits being a little worried when researchers showed up on his farm in Brownsburg, Ind., 4 years ago, asking for permission to monitor the tile outlets leading from his fields.

There may be nothing worse for no-tillers than heading to the fields in the spring and being sidelined by a maintenance issue with their planter — especially if the window of opportunity to plant is tight and the breakdown could have been avoided.