For some farmers, no-till is all they know. That's the case for Joe Zenz, who took up the practice when he started farming 20 years ago. A neighbor of veteran no-tiller Maury McLean, Zenz joined an informal partnership with him and his son Paul in 1996, and learned how to no-till under McLean's guidance.

Whether his 12-row, no-till planter needs it or not, Maury McLean usually spends part of the winter trying to figure out ways to make the machine more efficient. “I always get enthused about the new growing season by early March and make some last-minute changes and upgrades to the planter,” says the veteran Lancaster, Wis., no-tiller.