There's a buzz — some of it positive, some not — coming out of southeastern Minnesota about a new strip-tilling machine. The chatter focuses on Mark Bauer’s Soil Warrior, which he says provides an unprecedented balance between conventional tillage and no-till.

Several St. Louis National No-Tillage Conference attendees who use GPS auto-steer systems raised the question of adding more GPS wizardry directly to drills, planters and sprayers for reducing costly side draft on steep slopes.

In the 17 years that Terry Schneider, of Shirley, Ill., has been no-tilling, he’s tried as many planter systems as there are. Even today, with the latest technology, Schneider says he’s come full circle.

During the 1980s, the last thing many growers were looking for was more land to farm. Missouri Valley, Iowa, cash croppers Gail and Duane Witt saw this as an opportunity to expand from 1,200 to 4,000 acres by switching to no-till.