Designed to bring together no-tillers and members of the environmental community, an early summer Pacific Northwest tour demonstrated the benefits of direct seeding and the challenges faced by growers moving to this crop production system.

The No-Tilling Community tragically lost two members on Friday, May 31, including one of the youngest no-tillers in the country.

Requiring fewer trips across the field and using much less horsepower, no-till may be among the easiest way for farmers to meet the new federal fine-particle air standards.

In an effort to curb pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a pollution credit trading system to curb industrial, municipal and agricultural discharges into the nation's waterways.

The nitrate standard, which has long been set at 10 parts per million, does not accurately reflect real world situations. But it's probably here to stay, maintains Jay Lehr, senior scientist with Environmental Education Enterprises in Ostrander, Ohio.

Following a 2-year study of Bt corn, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in mid-October determined that it poses no risks to people or the environment. As a result, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Bt corn has been approved for an additional 7 years.

A change in the pricing structure for Monsanto’s biotechnology seed products will be showing up on seed invoices starting with next spring’s crops. Instead of farmers seeing a line item covering technology fees on an invoice, the company is shifting to a royalty pricing structure that will be paid by seed companies licensed to market these products.

The environment is in far better shape than environmental advocacy groups and the media would lead you to believe, maintains Jay Lehr, senior scientist with Environmental Education Enterprises in Ostrander, Ohio.

No-tillers and other growers using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn or cotton seed need to make sure they do a good job of following all of the essential rules and regulations this year.