Measured fertilizer applications, copious amounts of residue and dogged determination have all helped Leon Sowers improve the diversity and viability of his Kansas operation.

Aside from the planter and combine, drills are one of the most common pieces of equipment seen rolling across no-till fields today — about 64% of readers who participated in the 2016 No-Till Operational Benchmark Study said they own and use a no-till drill. And with cover crops picking up acreage in no-till systems, no-tillers are no longer relying on the tool just for seeding cash crops.