With 35 years’ experience working for the University of Wisconsin Extension, research is second nature for Sparta, Wis., no-tiller Jim Leverich. Now retired, he maintains a rigorous program of testing to get the best yields he can on his 1,000-acre corn-soybean operation that his forbears began as a 25-acre orchard in 1864. In testing components of the “4Rs” of nutrient management, he’s found anhydrous ammonia consistently provides the most efficient source of nitrogen (N) while offering the highest level of safety for the environment.

There are countless times when Ross Bishop, a no-tiller in Jackson, Wis., experienced a test of faith with no-till. Over the last 24 years, he’s managed drought, flooding, water contamination concerns, late frosts, cover crops that didn’t die and more.