As a family farm manager and longtime participant in farm policy development, Dick Wittman has mixed emotions about how the new farm bill will influence the behavior of no-tillers.

On the successful heels of last year's inaugural conservation tillage scholarship contest, Phoenix Rotary Equipment Ltd. will once again sponsor this year's essay contest. By eloquently writing about an aspect of conservation tillage, three high school or college students will earn a substantial scholarship, which will help them pay for furthering their education.

Requiring fewer trips across the field and using much less horsepower, no-till may be among the easiest way for farmers to meet the new federal fine-particle air standards.

When Harvey Brink explains how no-till has helped trim labor and equipment costs, he maintains that it saves driving across 11,500 acres per year in his operation.

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.

No-Tillers were active this month solving problems dealing with plugging, burned fields and much more.

While the acres have leveled off nationally since the mid-1990s, a lot of farmers are having tremendous success with no-tilled corn.