Generating more income on no-till acres is a powerful reason for no-tillers to raise specialty crops currently available.

No-tillers growing continuous corn often face a dilemma when residue piles up in their fields after harvest, leaving a mat that can keep soils cold and wet and make planting difficult.

When the oppertunity presented itself, Carrol Wyss went after a new market to make a few extra dollars. What he also found was that the changes he would need to make to control weeds were probably better for his farm.

Corn and soybeans have been the main crop sources for producing energy fuels, such as ethanol, biodiesel and biomass. But in the quest for the most efficient energy feedstocks, perennial grasses like switchgrass and miscanthus, oilseeds like camelina, and short-rotation woody crops such as hybrid poplars are beginning to emerge as viable energy crops for U.S. farmers.

Today’s ethanol industry continues to look to agricultural as a fuel source. While grain has seen the lion’s share of interest, corn residue holds promise as another potential fuel source.