More in No-Till

More northern Corn Belt farmers are planting continuous corn, and that means more hard-to-handle residue left in fields. Higher plant populations, better-yielding hybrids, less aggressive tillage and the cold climate – which slows down decay – all increase the mounds of debris....More

Jim Kinsella, Lexington, IL, is a legend in the no-till world. He’s been practicing continuous no-till since the late 1970s and has welcomed thousands of no-till enthusiasts to his farm for nearly two decades – to share stories and tips, and to learn from his experience. Today, he and his son Brien farm 2,200 acres....More

Unless you grow grapes on an Italian hillside, you probably have experienced cropland flooding at some time. It might have been a pond that dissipated after a week, or it might have been a river that left its banks and completed its deposits on some of your best corn ground. In each case the soil suffers some damage, and even if you are not farming in a river bottom, the lessons learned this year along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri may be applicable to farmers who fuss with a few ponds in a field....More

Farmers are eager to harvest soybeans and corn but the fields are very soggy in much of Ohio. The danger of causing soil compaction is therefore high. Let’s look at ways to increase the resilience of the soil to compaction, to avoid compaction, and ways to alleviate compaction....More

The soil moisture conditions and high temperature across Iowa during much of July and August may cause an early harvest, which means this is a good time to make soil management decisions for the upcoming season. The main driver of the fast maturity this year most likely is the heat in July coupled with lack of moisture – even though 61% of the state’s current top soil is adequate after the last few rain events....More

“We would have plowed up another 6 million square miles since 1950 to feed today’s population if we hadn’t already adopted current productive farming methods. Today’s farmers feed the world on that same land base, when there were half as many people. Without hybrid seed, commercial fertilizer, irrigation and modern technology, we would have added 21 times the U.S. land base,” Buffett says....More

Ohio crop growers faced numerous challenges planting corn and soybeans this spring, and with the crop progressing through mid-July, they now face an interesting weed control scenario, as well....More

Heavy rains in some parts of Kansas in mid- to late May have saturated some cornfields and even flooded fields for a day or more. Periods of early season flooding or soil saturation can sometimes cause immediate problems for small corn plants, says Kraig Roozeboom, K-State Research and Extension crop production specialist....More

Conducting fieldwork after wet weather can cause soil compaction, and in particular sidewall compaction in the seed furrow, says DeAnn Presley, Kansas State University Research and Extension soil management specialist. This is especially true if the weather then turns dry after planting, she adds....More

Plain and simple, farmers are behind the eight ball this spring with planting. On a five-year average, nearly 40% of the corn is planted by now. But as of Monday – a soggy spring caused by record winter snowfalls and pelting rains – USDA pegs that number at only 13%....More