The price tag for phosphorus and potassium is way too high for no-tillers to allow nutrients to tie up, float away or just plain not do their job effectively.

Fertilizer was a painful input for most no-tillers in 2008. Growing world demand (up 14% — a growth equal to the entire U.S. market, according to The Fertilizer Institute), high production costs, increased transportation expense and a faltering U.S. dollar all contributed to record-high prices for major nutrients.