The benefits of cover crops continue to grow. Touted for conserving soil while filling forage needs, some plant varieties also have the potential to suppress soybean cyst nematode populations in no-till fields.

High Snowfall totals and colder-than-typical temperatures have historically meant hotter- and drier-than-normal summers, which has fueled speculation among some weather prognosticators that the Midwest could see severe drought conditions.

Researchers at Montana State University have found microscopic root-lesion nematodes at economically damaging levels in 14 percent of the fields sampled in the state. The nematodes were discovered more often in no-till fields than in fully tilled fields, and in fields that had been previously cropped to winter wheat rather than spring wheat.

As a no-tiller, Ralph Alshouse recognizes the importance of nurturing the living organisms found in the soil to produce high-yielding crops. An intensive study of many of the soil conditions found in no-till has helped him fully understand what is occurring with the soils in his Corydon, Iowa, no-till corn and soybean operation.