According to NASS, Illinois producers harvested 36 percent of the corn crop and 52 percent of the soybean crop by October 20. That’s still behind the average pace of harvest, but harvest continues in many areas this week, and as it progresses, fields in many areas are becoming available for fall field work to begin.

Research has shown that both cover crops and perennial biofuel crops can relieve soil compaction. Cover crops are generally planted between cash crops such as corn and soybeans to protect the bare soil.

Download this FREE eGuide from Strip-Till Farmer with valuable info and examples on applying fall strip-till farming techniques to increase your spring yields.

The 2014 corn planting season is certainly off to a slow start in Indiana and elsewhere across the Midwest, primarily due to delayed drying and warming of soils. The April 21 USDA-NASS crop report estimated that 1% of Indiana's corn crop had been planted as of April 20, compared to the 5-year average planting progress of 14%.

A revival is happening across the Corn Belt that could save no-till corn, and it's called strip tillage.

In side-by-side comparisons, Monsanto test sites show clear-cut advantages for strip-till and no-till tillage, including greater profits.

While soybean growers have been moving toward no-till in a big way, the growth of no-till corn acres has remained somewhat flat in recent years.

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

Old habits are hard to break. Most of us who advocate reduced-tillage practices have, at one time, been tillage addicts ourselves.

Using a soil thermometer that also collects and stores temperatures can help strip-tillers learn invaluable information, says Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota Extension crops adviser.