An unexpected Phillips rotary harrow was a good fit this year for Foundation Feeders, located near Spring Grove, Minn. Jim Holty, a partner with his brother Ron in the custom heifer raising service, won a year’s use of the harrow at the 2004 National No-Tillage Conference in Des Moines. Jim manages the agronomy side of the business while Ron concentrates on the livestock operation.

Whether it's managing residue or growing a cover crop ahead of alfalfa, details about what has worked on other farms offers a head start toward success. Growers asking for valuable input often find answers at Farmers’ Forum, the online bulletin board at www.no-tillfarmer.com. As always, we’ll share some of that information here.

No-tillers once again faithfully took to their keyboards and continued to make the Farmer’s Forum on the No-Till Farmer Web site, www.no-tillfarmer.com, a huge success. Two of the more interesting topics from the last month of postings have to do with using wheat as a cover crop and if it’s a good idea to use a rolling stalk chopper before no-tilling into corn residue.

If you're looking for ways to trim no-till herbicide bills, research done in Paraguay indicates seeding cover crops can help you get the job done. Keeping the soil covered can be an effective way to reduce weed concerns when no-tilling.