No-tillers can learn how to improve the health of their soils with the help of the newly revised book "Building Soil For Better Health," written by two prominent soil scientists.

Giant miscanthus, which is a perennial warm-season grass from Asia, is garnering attention across the Midwest because of its high biomass output, its potential for conversion to ethanol and its adaptability to many different soil types.

Farmers are starting to overcome some misperceptions about cover crops, which include the myths that they cost too much and aren't profitable, an Ohio State University Extension educator says

Knowing the differences between annual ryegrass and cereal rye will allow farmers to choose the best applications for each crop, which will improve profitability.

Persistent rains and wet soil conditions have no-tillers wondering about the advisability of planting corn versus soybean after mid-June.

Effective scouting during the growing season is the key to successful, integrated management of SCN, says Iowa State University plant pathologist Greg Tylka.

The increased use of no-till farming since the 1980s, and the increased use of glyphosate-resistant crops since 1996, has significantly turned farmers into environmentalists. Less soil has eroded, less chemicals have been applied, and less fuel has been used because of significant changes in farming practices.

Cover crops incorporated into a continuous no-till field crop rotation can produce enough nitrogen to complement, or in some cases, replace corn nitrogen fertilizer applications, according to long-term Ohio State University Extension research.

Many farmers are using section controls on field sprayers because of product savings and the ability to avoid doubling up on chemical applications on the overlap areas where diagonal rows meet and at the end of fields.

Plovers seem to be coexisting well with intensive row-crop farming methods. No-till farming methods seem to benefit the birds most because they leave organic matter on the surface. And no-till benefits farmers, as well, by reducing erosion and protecting the soil.