Are you still facing wariness from landowners who would rather not rent fields to a no-tiller? Or are you no-tilling leased land but suspect you’re getting the short end of the deal?

If there's ever been any doubt on your part regarding the huge savings you’ll earn on fuel purchases from no-tilling, check out the No-Till-Age chart at the bottom left side of this page.

Facing higher input costs, more farmers than ever are taking a closer look at no-till. While there may be numerous opportunities for you to no-till more acres in your area while adding dollars to your checkbook, there’s no easy answer as to what you should charge for no-tilling, spraying or other work done in a neighbor’s fields.

You've probably already faced sticker shock concerns when you projected what will definitely be considerably higher crop production costs this year. Fuel, fertilizer, chemicals, seed, seed traits and machinery will all cost more in 2005 due to higher energy and steel prices, reduced manufacturing plant capacities and other factors.

If you're strip-tilling or want to improve traffic control in your no-till fields, you should consider auto steering, says Randall Reeder, an agricultural engineer with Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. While the cost is hefty and a decision should be made carefully, the returns can be well worth the investment, he says.