Count Keith Reha in as one of the many no-tillers taking a hard look at their soybean seed expenses, and questioning the tools and even the row width they use with no-till soybeans.

Some 41 years ago, when a few colleagues and I began what would become a three-decade scientific effort at New Zealand’s Massey University, we did not set out to invent a new no-tillage system.

The healthy futures prices for crop commodities probably has you chomping at the bit to get into the field and begin no-tilling your crops.

Vertical tillage is described as a system of soil management that promotes root development. It's also sometimes called "soiling" or zone tillage because it's used to fracture the entire soil profile from the bottom up using specially designed vertical tillage tools. According to the Precision Planting Co., each tillage pass is designed to increase the vertical flow of nutrients, water and developing roots. Tillage points of the tools work to “heave” the entire section of earth from just below the line that separates topsoil from subsoil.