Better late than never. Fueled by a tremendous number of walk-up registrations, the 11th annual National No-Tillage Conference, sponsored by Bayer Crop Science, Dow AgroSciences, Na-Churs Alpine Solutions, Landec Ag, Monsanto and Syngenta Crop Protection, once again put together more than 660 of the best no-tilling minds in North America.

While it hasn’t yet generated much business, an unexpected source of funds for purchasing no-till drills and planters is available from the federal government. The only drawback is that these 0-percent interest loans, that can be at least partially paid back with U.S. Department of Agriculture cost-share dollars, must be obtained by a public or quasi-public agency rather than directly by farmers.

After more than a year of analysis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently placed its recommendations regarding herbicide-drift tolerance on hold. That’s because EPA officials received more than 5,000 letters, phone calls and other feedback from farmers, ag dealers and educators who felt the recommendations were unfair.

The No-Tilling Community tragically lost two members on Friday, May 31, including one of the youngest no-tillers in the country.

In an effort to curb pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a pollution credit trading system to curb industrial, municipal and agricultural discharges into the nation's waterways.

While final details of the new 6-year federal Farm Bill were still being worked out as this was written, new soil conservation incentive payments may encourage more farmers to use less tillage.

In mid-March, Syngenta Crop Production filed a civil suit in Federal District Court against Monsanto in response to what they believe are false and misleading claims dealing with a comparison of Roundup and Touchdown herbicides.

Details on an agreement that allows Pacific Northwest Direct Seeding Association members to lease carbon credits to a major energy company were announced at the organization’s annual meeting in mid-January. The pilot project is expected to include leasing 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide (the equivalent of 8,174 tons of carbon) over 10 years.

In a precedent-setting case, a panel of federal Ninth Court of Appeals judges recently ruled that certain tillage practices may fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Following a 2-year study of Bt corn, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in mid-October determined that it poses no risks to people or the environment. As a result, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Bt corn has been approved for an additional 7 years.