If you haven't heard of Richard Follmer, just know that you've probably used a version of his invention if you've used a strip-till unit recently. The owner of Progressive Farm Products in Hudson, Ill., invented the midmount, dual-placement strip-till toolbar that is being used by thousands of Corn Belt farmers.

Research from around the world clearly documents that yield losses occur as a result of equipment passes through the field. Yield reductions occur from either direct damage to the standing crop or from the compacting of the soil, or both.

It used to be that the primary task of a corn head was to harvest corn: separate the ear from the stalk with as little grain loss as possible, while collecting as little trash as possible, says Marion Calmer, a no-till farmer with Calmer Corn Heads in Alpha, Ill. But as growers look to better integrate field operations, the corn head is playing an increasingly important role in managing crop residue as well.