While it depends on your own particular farming operation, automatic tractor steering systems that cost as much as $50,000 could pay off relatively quickly, says Randall Reeder, Extension agricultural engineer at Ohio State University.

Paul Reed, his three brothers and father have been no-tilling corn since 1982 and soybeans since 1989. They no-till throughout the western side of Iowa's Washington County.

While doublecropping has long been an option for no-tillers located in the South and southern Corn Belt, it's an option their northern counterparts have not been able to enjoy.

Jared Hoover started no-tilling to cut costs on his mostly upland terraced land. Since the Abilene, Kan., farmer began no-tilling about a decade ago, Hoover figures he’s cut the time it takes to farm by about 50 percent.

To feed future generations, no-tillers will need to find new ways to increase productivity while conserving current and future resources, says Darian Landolt, a researcher in CNH Global’s Product Management Innovation Group at Maple Park, Ill. Most importantly, he maintains that these objectives must be sustainable.