After jumping into no-till practices more than 2 decades ago, Iowa no-tiller Randy Caviness has been rewarded with more fertile soils, earlier planting and a stronger balance sheet to compete with neighbors.
Even as no-till was growing during the 1980s, Randy Caviness wasn’t completely convinced about the practice. He worried about weed control, and he hadn’t seen many examples of no-tilled crops working very well in his area.
The increased yields from improved soil drainage and long waits to get tile installed presents no-tillers with a new opportunity for a sideline enterprise.
As drought conditions persist and water supplies are pressured, an increasing number of farmers, including no-tillers, are turning to subsurface drip-irrigation systems to maximize water use.
No-tillers must sort through the sales hype and learn more about their seed sources to find economical, effective species and varieties that will accomplish their cover-crop goals.
As more and more no-tillers embrace cover crops, the production of the seed itself has become a rapidly growing industry in which marketing can sometimes outpace performance.
A 24-hour rapid test could help farmers unlock the secret to fertility potential in their soils and make more informed decisions about fertilizer applications.
A new method of soil testing that measures the drying and rehydration cycles in farm ground could help no-tillers use fertilizer more efficiently and even choose the best cover crops to seed ahead of the next crop.
In the “Frank Comments” column (Page 6) in the May issue of No-Till Farmer’s Conservation Tillage Guide, we outlined major cover crop concerns with current government payment and crop insurance regulations.
While no-tillers continue to enjoy some of the highest grain prices in recent history, it’s clear that they need those prices to stay high, judging by their 2011 expense sheet.
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On this edition of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by CultivAce, longtime no-tiller Jim Leverich explains why 20-inch corn rows are paying off big time on his Sparta, Wis., farm.
Needham Ag understands the role of technology in making better use of limited resources within a specific environment by drawing on a wealth of global experience to overcome the challenges facing today's farmers, manufacturers and dealers.
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