In mid-March, Syngenta Crop Production filed a civil suit in Federal District Court against Monsanto in response to what they believe are false and misleading claims dealing with a comparison of Roundup and Touchdown herbicides.

Details on an agreement that allows Pacific Northwest Direct Seeding Association members to lease carbon credits to a major energy company were announced at the organization’s annual meeting in mid-January. The pilot project is expected to include leasing 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide (the equivalent of 8,174 tons of carbon) over 10 years.

Awaiting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration approval for the 2001 growing season, a new formulation of Touchdown herbicide from Zeneca Ag Products will eliminate any concerns about yellow flash and other crop tolerance problems you may have in Roundup Ready corn and cotton.

As no-tillers, you don’t need anyone to tell you that no-tilling is the best thing you can do to ensure your soils are protected and are helping the environment.

When our forefathers first sailed to this country and started working American soil for food, they had no idea that their methods were actually hurting the productivity of the soil. After all, the vast prairies of this continent had millions of years to build up proper carbon, nitrogen and potassium levels. If tilling the soil was actually draining those nutrients and hurting its productivity, it certainly wasn’t apparent to early settlers.

Despite concerns about global warming, no-tillers have already helped American agriculture turn the corner. It’s good news not only for farmers, but environmentalists as well.

For several years, there's been talk in western Canada about offering tax credits to no-till farmers who store additional carbon in the soil. A few years back, Canadian utility companies saw the concept as a way to offset huge penalties for atmospheric emissions from coal-powered electric plants.