While planter technology can keep a farmer from losing bushels and dollars, it also pays to do a low-tech check of such high-tech equipment.

From tractors and drones to chemicals, farmers are known to get quite a few drop-ins from industry representatives making inquiries.

Organic crop production doesn’t often go hand-in-hand with reduced tillage because of the need to use field cultivation to get rid of weeds. But Wolcott, Ind., grower Jason Federer is integrating reduced tillage with organic methods to improve soil health and buffer the environmental impacts of his 4,000-acre operation.

Strip-tillers Jon Stevens of Rock Creek, Minn., Ryan Nell of Beaver Dam, Wis., and Ryan Shaw of Snover, Mich., share their approach to the 2023 growing season during a panel discussion at the 2022 National Strip-Tillage Conference.