Conventional wisdom at the coffee shop says John Obery’s twin-row, strip-tilled continuous corn won’t work and conventional tillage is the way to farm. But the Metamora, Ill., strip-tiller, who began farming in 1973, sets his own course.

From the Pacific Northwest to the Great Plains to the Eastern Corn Belt, no-tillers John Aeschliman, Dan Forgey, Allen Dean and Romey Bardwell grow different varieties of dryland wheat in different soils in areas receiving vastly different amounts of rain.

Without a doubt, one of the biggest concerns among no-tillers is seed placement. With the many attachments and tools available to move residue, drop seed in the row or close the seed slot, all are designed to put seed in the best possible position to emerge with the potential to be a high-yielding machine.

Paul Jasa admits it sounds odd, but he says cover crops help break down corn residue and improve no-till efforts the next year.