Iowa no-tillers can earn an extra 25 cent per bushel for growing nutritionally enhanced soybeans in 2005.
In a move to further expand its seed trait business, Monsanto has announced the development and commercialization of linolenic soybeans. This new technology, announced in early September, will help overcome the serious trans-fat health problems that are facing the food industry.
Among the dozens of ways to refine your no-till system, understanding and respecting downpressure can be a key to boosting yields and reducing unnecessary problems.
The Reed family members are some of no-till's biggest advocates. But the Washington, Iowa, farmers don't say no-tilling is the perfect, cookie-cutter method. Instead, they say, while no-till is the best way to be a good steward of the land and a profitable farmer, it does take some know-how.
Rotating crops can benefit your operation, but going against instinct can pay off in a big way. How? Stack 'em.
Dwayne Beck is known for a lot of things, perhaps crop rotations most of all. This Pierre, S.D., no-tiller manages the Dakota Lakes Research Farm at Pierre, S.D., and dedicates a lot of his time to studying the improvement of no-till operations with the help of crop rotations.
We have a lot going on at one time on our sixth generation southwestern Missouri crop and livestock farm. We milk 100 Holsteins, manage 200 Red and Black Angus crossbred beef cows, background the yearlings and grow all the feed we need on 1,200 acres of ground.
Never mind the critics, there is plenty of evidence that no-tillers raising genetically modified (GM) crops are ahead of the learning curve, while the rest of the country and world is catching on.
No-tiller Paul Reed pays particular attention to three aspects of his operation to drive up corn yields and profit.
"No-till soybeans have caught on a lot faster than no-till corn. We want to close that gap," says Paul Reed, who no-tills in Washington, Iowa, with his brothers and father.
When it comes to the future of the planet, Rattan Lal doesn't beat around the bush. "Increase no-till farming practices across the planet or face serious climate, soil quality and food production problems in the next 20 to 50 years," says the soil scientist at Ohio State University.
Practices that increased wheat yields from England to Kentucky can also move effectively to the most popular no-till crops.
After witnessing high-yield wheat fields in England, Miles Farm Supply officials recruited four English agronomists to boost wheat production in the western Kentucky, southern Indiana and Tennessee areas served by the company's Opti-Crop crop management division.
While most seed firms don't rank corn hybrids for essential agronomic factors, smaller companies are offering what farmers want and need in the way of important selection data to help you push up no-till profits.
Everyone's heard seed salesman say that almost every corn hybrid will perform well with any type of tillage. While more seed companies are finally admitting that cold vigor, residue level, germination rate and a few other items should be evaluated when selecting corn hybrids for no-till, Kevin Newgard maintains a number of other key agronomic factors need to be considered.
Winner credits moisture conservation as one key to top-notch production in his fields.
Still not convinced about the benefits of no-till grain sorghum? Take a look at what no-till cropping has done for Clyde, Kan., grain sorghum producer Gary Resco.