Since 1988, Marion Calmer has seen no yield loss by reducing soybean planting populations down to 100,000 plants per acre in 15-inch rows.

It’s easy to see that no-tillers are gearing up for the upcoming no-tilling season. While always one of the most popular features on the No-Till Farmer Web site, the Farmers’ Forum message board has been busier than ever.

if getting the opportunity to interact with almost 700 fellow no-tillers wasn't enough, some attendees at the 11th National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, Ind., also walked away with a number of extremely valuable big-time prizes.

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.

If you have any last-minute no-tilling questions, or want to offer any ideas for fellow farmers prior to the 2003 planting season, the time to act is now. The No-Till Farmer Farmer’s Forum message board is available for you to use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Plenty of no-tillers just like yourself find knowledgeable answers to tough questions every day.

For the first time, the Douglas County, Ill., Soil and Water Conservation District used the cross-slot technology to no-till soybeans in 2002. They have successfully used this New Zealand technology for several years with no-tilled corn.

A simple question about converting a disc to an aeration tool sparked a heated discussion on the No-Till Farmer message board this month. No-tillers gave their thoughts about making this conversion and also the compaction problems that can go along with no-tilling in cold, wet soils.

With growing concerns about worldwide oil supplies, no-tillers have an excellent opportunity to help conserve a considerable amount of fuel. It’s crucial as global oil production should peak between 2005 and 2010 before beginning a long and slow descent.

New developments in recent years in regard to more effective weed and insect control have paid big dividends for Joe Alexandrowski.

Now is the best time of year to utilize the No-Till Farmer Web site message board, Farmer’s Forum, at www.no-tillfarmer.com.