I spent the Fourth of July on my parent's farm about an hour north of Milwaukee. With my father retiring from the dairy and raising more crops for grain, I've talked to him about transitioning the farm to 100% no-till.

I've been thinking that he ought to utilize a rotation of corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa. With many horse owners and dairies in the area, there's a place to sell hay.

Both alfalfa and oats ought to provide good diversity to the soils to help them transition quickly to no-till. In addition, harvesting oats in late July to early August provides an opportunity to plant a cover crop.

So here's your chance to offer suggestions. What type of rotation would you use? How about cover crops?

Drop me an e-mail. If we get enough feedback, we'll share ideas in the next issue of No-Till Farmer E-Tip and post a story online. And perhaps we'll have the makings of an experimental no-till farm. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.