Sometimes it's not the hybrid, it’s the farmer or subtle weather conditions that are the reason yields weren’t the best that they could be. Too many times, I see producers abandon a perfectly good hybrid or variety without understanding why it performed the way it did that season.

The four no-till innovators honored this year have accomplished much, some during the past 20 to 30 years, while others much more recently.

During the past three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate no-till agriculture in southern Illinois from three perspectives.