Finding a strip-till setup to best suit your soil type, farm size and budget isn't always easy, especially if there aren't opportunities to test and see equipment at work. This was a challenge that Kimball, S.D., farmer Todd Boesen encountered when he first transitioned his corn operation to strip-till 5 years ago. While there were a number of custom strip-till operators in the south- central part of the state, Boesen says he didn't have a clear sense of where to start.

AGCO Application Equipment is introducing the newest addition to its RoGator lineup the RG700 a 700-gallon machine built with the same attention to detail and durability as its bigger RoGator brothers.

The U.S. House failed to pass a sweeping five-year farm bill with sharp cuts to food stamps, setting the stage for an uphill fight in Congress to craft a new law. The Republican-led House soundly rejected a $500 billion measure by a vote of 195-234, failing to muster enough support from Democrats and Republicans concerned over the size of the cuts to the country's popular food stamp program.

Eight different manufacturers came with strip-till units, which were run on a plot he set aside on his farm. About 30 farmers attended, some from as far as northern North Dakota and others from Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.

AGCO Application Equipment is introducing the newest addition to its RoGator lineup - the RG700 - a 700-gallon machine built with the same attention to detail and durability as its bigger RoGator brothers.

An agricultural tool as small as a thumb can mean the difference between a 25 to 50 percent increase in yields or a 25 to 50 percent decline, according to an expert from Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

A new online tool called COMET-FARM enables agricultural producers to calculate how much carbon their conservation actions can remove from the atmosphere. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the free tool in a June 5 address to the National Press Club in Washington, where he outlined a vision for modern solutions to environmental challenges.

Portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry is normally a process used by those in the metal industry, but a study funded by the Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board is using the equipment to look at fertility issues in corn and soybeans.

Mark Bauer, strip-tiller in Faribault, Minn., talks about building confidence in strip-till with a two-pass system methodology and how it's allowed him to expand his operation to include grid sampling and potential cover crops.

Change isn't always an easy sell to farmers who have relied on the same methodology for years or even decades, especially if they've had success. Farmers tend to rely on the two T's -- tillage and tradition, Minnesota strip-tiller David Legvold told me during a recent visit to his farm. In my opinion, you need to shift away from the traditional, and from practices that are damaging the soil.