When given the opportunity, most people show appreciation for someone who has helped them out. That’s exactly what no-tiller Herb Lofty of Richfield, Wis., did in January at the 2001 National No-Tillage Conference in Cincinnati.

Lofty’s name was drawn as the winner of the 1-year, free use of a Computrol II planter monitor from Big John Manufacturing in Osmond, Neb., and Fulk Agri Services in Platte City, Mo. Lofty, who’s fairly new to no-till, felt it was appropriate to give his prize to Ross Bishop, the fellow no-tiller that got him started.

Because of calibrating concerns, the monitor was shipped very late in the no-tilling season, but Bishop was still able to use it on 20 acres.

Bishop used the monitor with a test plot, which he planted on May 16. Bishop mudded in the plot of no-till soybeans and says the mud really tested the varieties.

Located in Jackson, Wis., Bishop is a seed dealer for Golden Harvest and tests their varieties with no-till and narrow rows. He set the monitor program up manually and no-tilled at 5 miles per hour. “It worked well. It showed every row, the seed population and any skips and misses,” he says.

Because of the late shipping mishap, Fulk Agri Services will let Bishop use the monitor again next year. Chuck Fulk recently visited Bishop this summer, helped him set up the unit and did a test flow for a training period.