I must admit to playing a little catch-up after spending all of last week in Springfield, Ill., working with my colleagues at No-Till Farmer to host the 22nd annual National No-Tillage Conference. Our second-largest crowd ever with 1,024 attendees took in 4 days of no-till learning at the Springfield Hilton. While there were plenty of familiar faces, we still saw 408 first-time attendees. More than 500 first-timers were on hand last year at the NNTC in Indianapolis.

At No-Till Farmer we often tell readers that we can share with you the ingredients for successful no-till practices, but to make them work on your farm, you need to write your own recipe.

The consequences of plowing farm ground are so serious, John Baker says the implements should have warnings on them similar to cigarettes. We’ve always argued here at No-Till Farmer that tillage is addictive, especially when it’s recreational tillage that accomplishes little or nothing.

An obstacle no-tillers often cite for not using cover crops in their rotation is getting them established in a timely manner after corn and soybean harvest so they get optimum growth and benefit. This is especially true in colder northern climates, where the growing season is shorter.

When it comes to the topic of vertical tillage, nearly everyone seems to have an opinion on the practice, but there is also a heavy dose of emotion mixed in as well.

It’s often said that no-tillers choosing cover crops for their farm operations should have goals in mind. One could be scavenging nitrogen in the soil and holding it for the next cash crop, rather than letting this expensive nutrient run off fields into local watersheds.

For an established no-tiller to find that “higher gear” and push their operation to a higher level of profitability, it might be necessary to step outside of the daily grind to find a source of new ideas.