Without a doubt, one of the biggest concerns among no-tillers is seed placement. With the many attachments and tools available to move residue, drop seed in the row or close the seed slot, all are designed to put seed in the best possible position to emerge with the potential to be a high-yielding machine.

It's one thing to plant a straight row; it's an entirely different matter placing seed precisely and consistently where you need it to take full advantage of the newer and more costly hybrids.

David Wipf learned a lot about precision corn planting last year, thanks to the Computrol II Monitor that he won at the 2000 National No-Tillage Conference. Wipf, crops manager at the Fairview Colony near LaMoure, N.D., directs production on 2,500 acres of no-till corn and soybeans.