While Francis Childs certainly doesn’t no-till, the Manchester, Iowa, farmer uses a number of ideas some ideas that you could use in your own no-tilling operation. Using a mini moldboard plow that works the soil up to 14 inches deep yet still leaves up to 40 percent soil cover from his extremely heavy continuous corn plant residue, he harvested an amazing 442.1 bushels of corn per acre last fall. For the sixth straight year, he took top honors in the 2002 National Corn Growers Association National Corn Yield Contest.

When i started no-tilling, I felt a renewed sense of energy and excitement about farming. I’m guessing a lot of fledgling no-tillers get that same feeling.

Dean Fehl has been no-tilling soybeans on his LaPorte, Iowa, farm since 1989. About 6 years ago, he began strip-tilling corn.