Standing Pat is not something most veteran no-tillers do. Instead of repeating what they did last year, they try a few new no-tilling ideas the next year.

At last January’s sixth annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, Ind., four veteran no-tillers shared their insights on what they plan to do differently in 1998:

• Allan Brooks no-tills 2,058 acres near Markesan, Wis. Besides no-till corn and soybeans, this specialty cropper no-tills sweet corn, peas, snap beans, winter wheat, barley and double-crop soybeans behind early peas. He uses a John Deere 1770 12-row, 30-inch planter and a Great Plains 2410 no-till drill.
• Ron Jacques relies on a no-till rotation of wheat, grain sorghum, soybeans or sunflowers in a dryland area near Hutchinson, Kan. He uses a Buffalo slot-type planter and United Farm Tools no-till drill.
• Stan Smock no-tills 850 acres of corn, wheat and full-season and double-crop soybeans near Edinburgh, Ind. The No-Till Farmer “Answer Man” uses a John Deere 7000 eight-row, 30-inch planter and a 15-foot Tye no-till drill.
• Guy Wagner no-tills 850 acres of corn, 550 acres of soybeans and 15 acres of wheat near Bethlehem, Pa. He relies on a Kinze 2300 12-row, 30-inch planter with a Rawson zone till setup and a 12-row, 15-inch Kinze 2600 planter for soybeans.

1. Brooks: Split nitrogen application in no-tilled winter wheat and barley.

“After networking with Kentucky farmers at previous conferences, I picked up new equipment ideas, made the technique work and boosted yields.”

2. Jacques: Crop residue is a “free…