When compacted soils become a problem, as they can anywhere in the country, cover crops can be an effective solution, according to experienced no-till farmers. But you need to know which crop will work in your area to provide the kind of long tap roots needed. Visitors to Farmer’s Forum, the message board of No-Till Farmer, offered a number of possibilities recently. We share their ideas here, as well as thoughts about an assortment of other topics.

While most people associate computers and advanced technologies with e-mail and gory CD-ROM video games, Marion Calmer thinks about higher profits and labor-saving practices for his 1,300-acre farm.

While you may have recently bought a yield monitor with the hopes of unraveling the secrets of yield variability in no-till fields, be aware of the limitations in yield map accuracy, cautions Tom Doerge, Pioneer precision farming agronomist.