Our shift to no-tillage started after we attended a Top Farmer Crop Workshop at Purdue University in 1989. We were told about the big gains that some of the early no-till innovators were getting by seeding soybeans with a no-till drill rather than in 30-inch rows. It seemed like a good system to consider.

With 900 acres of corn near Beaver Dam, Wis., Charlie Hammer uses 20-inch rows. He plants 36,000 to 38,000 seeds per acre and finds the narrower rows add 6 to 8 inches to plant height.