Remote sensing will enable scientists to see if winter cover crops are improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.

New technologies for farm drainage and tiling are providing more choices for farmers who want more control over soil moisture in their fields.

Water infiltrates up to four times more quickly in strip-tilled vs. directed-seed and conventional, full-width tillage in corn and cotton grown at the Stiles Foundation Farm in Texas.

One advantage proponents of no-till have championed for years is getting on their no-till fields without making ruts long before their neighbors in conventional tillage can run. Sometimes there's a day's difference after a heavy rain. As it turns out, that's a mixed blessing.

Combining gypsum and a buffer system can improve water quality by trapping some agricultural pollutants in field runoff, a USDA scientist says.

Iowa State University researchers are testing between-row cover grasses as part of research looking at ways to reduce soil runoff and keep vital nutrients in the soils while crop residue, called stover, is removed from farm fields to produce biofuels.

RTK makes strip-tilling work well, strip-till shines during drought and deep banding phosphate and potash cane work if managed properly.