Ever since David Legvold began farming land owned by St. Olaf College at Northfield, Minn., about 9 years ago, he’s worked with university professors and students to document the impacts of tillage and crop inputs on profitability, soil health and water quality.

No-tillers are finding that weed suppression can be an added benefit of using cover crops by tweaking a few management strategies in their fields.

As no-tillers learn to reduce their exclusive dependence on glyphosate for weed control, their operation’s future profitability may depend on their ability to tankmix herbicides with diverse modes of action.

If there’s one thing farming has proven to Johnny Davis, it’s that there is nothing constant.

Having no-tilled for 8 years, Tim Goodenough has moved away from using anhydrous ammonia, 28 percent nitrogen and urea as nitrogen sources. Since 2005, he’s successfully used the ESN (Environmentally Smart Nitrogen) product. This polymer-coated nitrogen is a slow release product that is activated by moisture and heat, says the West Salem, Wis., grower who no-tills 1,300 acres.

Does precision farming, with page after page of information generated by automated devices, really make your no-till fields more productive? Or are you about ready to unplug it all in frustration?