Crop scientists over the years have learned a great deal about how plants grow above the ground, but much less is known about roots and their soil interactions. To rectify that, worm-like, soil-swimming robots are being deployed to sense and record soil properties, water, the soil microbiome and how roots grow, says Cornell University.

In this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Agrisolutions, we share excerpts from our recent conversation with Brian Watkins, a 6th generation strip-tiller from Kenton, Ohio, who applies a dollars and cents mentality to manage his 7,000 acre corn, soybeans and winter wheat and livestock operation.

In case you missed them, here are the items that have garnered the most interest from other farmers in the past month.

A new bill to be considered in the Senate would encourage farming practices that improve soil health and crop resilience and lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

In this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Agrisolutions, we compare and contrast equipment setups, berm-building preferences, nutrient management strategies and more that strip-tillers are putting to work on their operation.

John Deere introduces AutoPath to help producers more accurately document and follow each row of crops in fields throughout the season. The company also has released a new 20-3 software update for its Generation 4 4600 CommandCenter displays, including new features and enhancements to its popular Machine Sync application.

According to the latest Crop Progress report from USDA, 96% of soybeans have been harvested as of the week ended Nov. 15, 2020.

The new SmartDepth technology, now available through Precision Planting dealers, offers farmers increased precision for seed depth placement. SmartDepth uses a proprietary calibration process to ensure that every row unit is planting at the same depth, removing row-to- row variability.