If ever there was an article to pass on to neighbors who have talked about switching to no-tilling but haven’t because of the horror stories they’ve heard about the transition period, this is the one.

For as little as 20 cents per acre, no-tillers can significantly increase the effectiveness of their post-emergent herbicide applications. The addition of inexpensive ammonium sulfate (AMS) to the tank mix can boost no-till weed control by as much as 41 percent in some cases, according to Bryan Young, a weed scientist at Southern Illinois University.

With no-till's high residue levels, a challenging environment is created in which to effectively manage your nitrogen. In any given year, you can expect nitrogen loss from immobilization, denitrification, leaching or volatilization.