With fewer new herbicides coming on the market each year, no-tillers are paying much closer attention to developing more effective weed-management plans. As a result, no-tillers are intently studying how various herbicide and tankmix combinations perform in their fields.

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.

With government officials from the European Union objecting to the use of no-till and forest land as no-till carbon sinks, the U.S. recently made concessions in this area for reducing carbon dioxide losses into the atmosphere. This action took place during a recent meeting of worldwide government officials seeking approval of the international Kyoto Protocol treaty to curb climate change.