While no-till was used on 17.5 percent of all ground in the United States and made up 47.9 percent of all acres that were farmed with conservation tillage last year, the adoption of this reduced tillage practice still has a long way to go.

Because of growing interest in zone tillage, we asked Ray Rawson to answer the most frequently asked questions about this in-row tilling concept. A veteran no-tiller from Farwell, Mich., Rawson pioneered this unique reduced tillage system and also created the Zone-Builder subsoiler.

It's right there in dollars and cents. Attendees at last year National No-Tillage conference earned an average of $10,360 in added income by attending this exciting annual gathering of the no-till clan. In fact, attending was worth $40,000 for one no-tiller.

Because a number of No-Till Farmer readers tell us that they often run into difficulties when no-tilling, we asked Howard Martin to address possible solutions to what he sees as the nine toughest no-till corn planting problems.

No-Till's ability to hold on to soil carbon ranks right at the top among farming systems for slowing greenhouse gas concerns.

Organization is the key in running a successful no-till operation and having an efficiently-run farm office plays a very important role.

Let's get one thing straight. Sequestering carbon in our soils is not likely to happen unless farmers no-till.

While some people have suspected that the no-till acreage has been declining, results of a recent survey in Iowa indicate it was virtually unchanged between 1997 and 1999. Even so, the number of Iowa farmers who are using valuable soil conservation practices appears to be leveling off.

Even though we’ve been hearing sporadic reports that a few farmers are parking their no-till equipment and going back to the disc, chisel plow and field cultivator, rest assured that you’re making the right decision.