While some farmers are driven purely to make a buck, you might say that David Uchtmann is driven to get a buck.

When we decided that we wanted to no-till corn back in 1994, we knew we would face a tough challenge from our cold, wet spring soils. So, my brother Steve and I (with the support of our Dad, Dave) decided to try fall strip-tilling.

While no-tillers are already relying on crop residue to help make more efficient use of available water, the development of drought-tolerant corn will help stabilize yields when Mother Nature doesn’t deliver needed rains.

When it comes to developing the best management strategies, Dale and Larry Landreth worry about only one crop — wheat. That’s because the father and son team from Reardan, Wash., grows wheat every year on all of the 2,500 acres that they own and rent.

If your familiar with the cyclical weather patterns (very dry to very wet) we’ve experienced in North Dakota since I started no-tilling in 1986, the fact that I’m still in business might say an awful lot. Not only am I still no-tilling, but I have expanded from 1,000 to 4,000 acres of cropland. And thanks to the many hours I no longer have to spend in the field, I’ve built up a busy grain cleaning and processing business.

Kenny Holsing faced a bit of a quandary. The De Witt, Neb., no-tiller needed a combine upgrade, yet he hoped to gradually ease back a bit. “I’m getting close to retirement,” Holsing says, “and I have only about 400 acres.”