Despite good fertility programs, nitrogen deficiencies showed up in a number of Kansas no-till soybean fields last summer.

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.

When it comes to continuing to rent land successfully no-tilled for several years, some readers find they are at a distinct disadvantage.

Questions regarding modifications and selection of no-till planters and drills are among the most popular topics being discussed by visitors on the No-Till Farmer sponsored Web site Bulletin Board.

“I’d bet every no-till couple has valuable farm office management ideas they could share at the National No-Tillage Conference in Cincinnati,” says Elaine Hottel of Burkittsville, Md. “Trading valuable farm office management tips, tricks, techniques and forms could be a very valuable part of next January’s meeting.”

Regardless of what tillage system was used, no-till consistently provided a moisture advantage over a 3-year period in the Mid-Atlantic Cropping Systems Project at Port Royal, Va.

Thanks to polymer seed coatings, western Canadian no-tillers are already making fall dormant seeding of canola work.

“I don't get it,” a leading farm magazine editor said to me at the conclusion of the seventh National No-Tillage Conference in St. Louis, Mo., in January of 1999.