While no-till can take soil quality and the resulting yield benefits a long way, preexisting compaction layers and less-than-ideal seedbeds can put a ceiling — or in terms of root growth, a floor — on progress. That’s where vertical tillage might play a helpful role, users of the practice say.

Since I opened the doors of Moeller Ag Service in 1989, we've worked with thousands of farmers — some as far away as Australia and New Zealand — on selection of planter attachments for no-till, as well as making adjustments that assure the seedbed preparation and seed placement needed for uniform stands and the highest yields.

When Randy Raper was touring rural Paraguay in 1997, he probably didn’t realize that a device he saw might become a useful tool for no-tillers who want to better manage their cover crops.

When it comes to farming, Daniel Davidson gets to see it from two perspectives.

More than 25 years ago, Bob Kannall bought his first no-till corn planter.

When people ask why I was the first farmer in our area of southeastern Iowa to start no-tilling 28 years ago, I answer that it was bred into me to control soil erosion any way I can — including extensive use of terraces and grass waterways. I couldn’t bear to see all that soil running into streams and rivers. I knew I had to do something to keep that from happening.

No-tillers descended upon central Iowa at the end of August to see the latest equipment and production tools during the annual Farm Progress Show. Here’s just a glimpse at some of the new products or technologies seen and talked about during the 3-day event.