When thousands of troops walked around the huge rocks and out of the corn fields on the morning of Sept. 17, 1862, in the bloody Battle of Antietam, little did they know that 19,510 soldiers would be wounded and 3,600 killed on this single, gruesome day. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

With earlier no-tilling and seeding into wet soils, many no-tillers across the Corn Belt have seen a buildup of mud on Keeton seeding attachments.

Practically anything you ever wanted to know about no-till was discussed during the ninth annual National No-Tillage Conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in mid-January. Over 700 veteran no-tillers from more than 20 states, Canada and several foreign countries shared their "best of the best"; no-tilling ideas that have worked so successfully with other attendees.

With 900 acres of corn near Beaver Dam, Wis., Charlie Hammer uses 20-inch rows. He plants 36,000 to 38,000 seeds per acre and finds the narrower rows add 6 to 8 inches to plant height.

Plenty of new ideas are coming along to help you no-till more efficiently by the year 2005. As the No-Till Farmer editors look to the future, here are a few ideas you may be putting to good use within the next 10 years.