Soil erosion is the longest-running environmental concern of farmers. However, for the greater urban population, environmental priorities are often diverted elsewhere. To recognize farmers such as yourself who work to “save the soil” and protect our environment, No-Till Farmer is sponsoring “National No-Tillage Week” from Aug. 9 to 15, 1998.

Many people are finding no-till doesn’t push a farmer’s “hot button” like it did a few years back.

If you ever had doubts about long-term no-till, you needed to listen to four farmers speak at last winter’s Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Till Workshop in Minot, N.D.

Higher fertility, narrow rows, soil-testing changes, higher plant populations, insect-resistant hybrids, yield monitors, soil additives and no-tilling corn into wheat stubble were among the unique ideas used by the top finishers in the three no-till categories in the 1997 yield contest conducted by the National Corn Grower’s Association.

While some farmers tend to have difficulty no-tilling corn in rotations, a pair of Purdue University researchers are finding row cleaners and avoiding planting in the old rows can make continuous no-till corn feasible. In addition, some ideas they’ve come up with can help if you are following a more traditional crop rotation.