With severe dry weather hitting some areas of the Corn Belt this year, a number of no-tillers have voiced concerns about the effectiveness of post-emergence herbicide applications in both no-tilled corn and soybeans.

If more efficient use of water isn’t made a priority, a shortage of available water could undercut the increasing production of ethanol, according to a report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

To avoid contamination of nearby waterways, no-tillers should not apply liquid manure to their fields when a tile line is flowing, according to a USDA researcher.

As I sit here at my desk, I find myself not in the countryside of eastern Oregon where my family raises dryland wheat and barley, but rather in the vast city of Quito, Ecuador.

With the concentrated dairy industry in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, crops there are often grown on land fertilized with liquid manure that is hauled into the fields in tanker loads. While the manure is valuable for its nutrients and organic matter, the weight of the tankers concerns those who understand the dangers of soil compaction.

Just about every no-tiller I’ve ever met would agree that at some point you start to wonder if you were really smart to move away from the “safety” of conventional systems.