Five years ago, Canadian no-tiller Craig Shaw had never heard of controlled-traffic farming. Today, he’s making a long-term commitment to the system.

Three years ago, Stark City, Mo., farmer Kip Cullers set the world record for soybean yields at 160 bushels an acre, nearly four times the average soybean field in the U.S.

To gauge the world’s supply of arable farming acres, an agricultural expert once compared Earth to the size of an apple, cut into 32 slices. The number of acres suitable for food production represents only one slice, and the apple’s skin represents the world’s supply of topsoil.

They may not be cactuses. But water-optimizing corn hybrids coming to the market could help growers retain or even boost yields when water is in short supply.

My first “no-tilling” experiences were in 1989 when I planted soybeans directly into old corn rows. I saw immediate labor and fuel savings and harvested yields that were consistent with conventional tilling.