Although reducing tillage intensity can provide conservation benefits and cost savings, adoption of no-till and minimum till practices for corn production has been limited in some areas, particularly in the northern Corn Belt. In this environment, a shorter growing season and cold, poorly drained soils can lead to delayed planting, low and uneven emergence and lower yields for reduced versus conventional tillage. Strip-till has been proposed as an alternative minimum tillage system for areas and soils that are not well suited for no-till management.

When fourth-generation farmer Lance Saathoff climbs into the cab of his 510-horsepower John Deere tractor, he's in a control center that's guided by distant satellites to fraction-of-an-inch precision and programmed for exact application of every last seed, every bit of fertilizer.

Gary Nelson, strip-tiller from Fort Dodge, Iowa, talks about the Nelson Family Farms' transition to strip-till that took place in 2007. He also gives advice on how those looking to make the transition from conventional till to strip-till can do so with the help of others.

Laura Allen has joined Lessiter Publications as a staff writer for No-Till Farmer and Conservation Tillage Guide. She holds a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from Ball State University, and was most recently the assistant editor for Greenhouse Management and Produce Grower magazines. No-Till Farmer is a paid-subscription publication that reaches nearly 8,000 farmers interested in learning more about how to no-till, strip-till or manage other conservation-tillage techniques. The 12 monthly issues include eight issues of a 16-page newsletter and four quarterly issues of a full-length, four-color magazine that accepts display advertising.

Lessiter Publications, Inc. of Brookfield, Wis., is pleased to announce that Michael Storts has been promoted to Vice President of Finance & Administration.

Placing fertilizer both shallow and deep, and planting in the middle of the berm, can maximize your strip-till corn yields.

A 3-year onfarm study in Minnesota shows that strip-tilling corn and soybeans saves $14 per acre vs. disk-ripping and chisel plowing, says Jodi DeJong-Hughes, a University of Minnesota Extension crops educator.

After strip-tilling corn on soybeans for the first time 6 years ago, Newton, Iowa, farmer Will Cannon tried strip-tilling corn-on-corn in his second season and has continued ever since.

Water has long been my chief adversary in farming. All of my acres have some roll to them and several areas on the farm are classified as highly erodible.

To this observer, it appears the position of southern agriculture is stronger in the 2013 farm bill debate than in the 2012 farm bill debate.