Fertilizer placement draws a lot of opinions about everything from when to apply to the depth of application. The many, sometimes conflicting opinions can be confusing about which to follow.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service now measures trends in soil organic matter and erosion with a recently developed formula known as RUSLE2, short for Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, Version 2.

With no-tillers earning higher per-acre returns than farmers still relying on extensive tillage, many are looking for more land to farm. That’s why you’ll find the results of a recent survey of land prices based on fertility levels to be of special interest because of your no-till experiences.

While some growers and educators figured the U.S. no-till acreage might have decreased during the past 2 years, it instead turned in an astounding increase of 7.1 million acres. Much of the increase occurred in the Great Plains states where no-till is helping growers make more productive use of limited water.

Even though the no-till acreage continues to increase each year, Dan Towery believes less than 12 percent of the U.S. acres are in a continuous no-till program.

An unexpected Phillips rotary harrow was a good fit this year for Foundation Feeders, located near Spring Grove, Minn. Jim Holty, a partner with his brother Ron in the custom heifer raising service, won a year’s use of the harrow at the 2004 National No-Tillage Conference in Des Moines. Jim manages the agronomy side of the business while Ron concentrates on the livestock operation.