Main has been the only state in the U.S. that doesn’t permit the planting of Bt corn, but that might be about to change. The state’s Board of Pesticide Control licensed the genetically engineered corn this past summer and recently held a public hearing on proposed rules regulating its use in the state. Bt corn could be used for the first time in Maine as soon as 2008.

Wisconsin growers first questioned the idea of a possible connection between potassium levels and soybean aphid populations in no-tilled bean fields. They wondered why they were often seeing a considerable variation in the aphid populations that were found in different areas within a single field.

When no-till corn growers are asked about what kind of insect pressures they are facing, it seems like they are never at a loss for words.

After more than a year of analysis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently placed its recommendations regarding herbicide-drift tolerance on hold. That’s because EPA officials received more than 5,000 letters, phone calls and other feedback from farmers, ag dealers and educators who felt the spraying recommendations were unfair.

Additional uses for several older products may let you do a better job of controlling insects in your no-tilled corn this summer. Here's what company reps had to say about getting more effective insect control in no-tilled corn at this year's National No-Tillage Conference.

As part of this continuing series, an Indiana farmer tackles your most frequently asked no-tilling questions. Remember that your particular farming circumstances may result in entirely different answers to these particular concerns.

No-Tilling soybeans ahead of corn may not be for everyone. But in some Corn Belt regions, however, yield advantages combined with other benefits are attracting more interest in no-tilling beans as early as the last week of March.

When you see the number of no-till acres growing significantly in areas outside the Corn Belt, one of the interesting things is the complexity of many rotations. No-tillers in other areas of the country are getting more crops into their rotations and are making them work.