Survey of Farming Practices

Three years of national survey results have now been collected on farmers who no-till. No-Till farming magazine recently shared these 2nd half results. Farmers use a lot of different equipment, different brands, and different sizes. A major change has been the switch to larger corn planters. No-till and probably most farmers are switching to 16-row (40 foot) corn planters 31.2% up 3.9%, 24-row (18.2%) while 12 row planters have fallen from 28.4% to 23.7%. While farmers have less money to invest due to lower prices and weather concerns, equipment is always a major expense on every crop farm. 

On no-till planter attachments, farmers use coulters out front (38.4%), row cleaners (67.6%), closing wheels (86.5%), seed firmer (64.2%), down pressure systems (57.5%), pop-up fertilizer applicators (31.5%), and 2” X 2” fertilizer placement (34.7%). On soybeans, narrow row (7-10” row spacing) are common in the East but less common in the South and West. About 54.2% of farmers use 15-inch rows, 5.6% use 20-inch rows, and 37.8% still use 30-inch rows. Only 7.2% use narrow rows or other spacing. 

When asked about intended farm equipment purchases in 2025, planters were at the top (25.4%), followed by drills (16.9%), drones (14.1%), draper header (13.4%) and roller crimpers (11.3%). Other intended equipment purchases all under 10% included vertical tillage equipment, air seeders, self-propelled sprayers, fertilizer applicators, pull-type fertilizer spreaders, strip till equipment, and stripper headers. Last year, in this survey, farmers spent $64,000 on equipment or about $17,000 more than expected per farm ($47,000). This year, expected purchases are even lower at $29,000 or $18,000 less than what was intended last year. Unfortunately, when equipment breaks down or is worn out, if you want to farm; you about have to buy it or at least lease it. 

Many farmers are using more precision technology. GPS auto steer tractors are used on 70.5% of farms in this survey. Yield monitor data (61.4%), field mapping (56.1%), auto seed shutoff (51.6%), auto boom/nozzle shut off (47.3%), variable rate fertilizer (37.8%), and variable rate seeding (30.6%). Other technology farmers are using include satellite aerial imagery, GPS guidance – lightbar, drones, and remote sensing. Farming is becoming a high-tech business. 

What corn and soybean genetic traits farmers use has changed greatly in the last few years. On soybeans, Roundup Ready is used on 46.4% of no-till farms, Enlist (74.3%), Liberty Link (33.5%), Dicamba-tolerant (16.9%), and Non-GMO (8.2%) with 2.6% saying other. On corn, Roundup Ready is 81.3%, Liberty Link (41.1%), European corn borer (33%), Corn root worm (28.6%), Enlist (19.3%) and Non-GMO (18.5%). 

More no-till farmers are using nitrification inhibitors (55%) and fungicides with 70% use in corn and 63.3% in soybeans. Insecticide use has fallen in corn in 2023 at 54.1% down to 48.6% in 2024. However, more no-till farmers are using insecticides on soybeans at 70.5% which is up 7.5% from 2023. On insecticides, foliar spray was the most popular application techniques on corn 81.7% followed by 35% applying insecticide in furrow. 

Farmers use different forms of nitrogen (N) to fertilizer corn. The most popular form is 28% N (43.4%), 32% N (40.5%), followed by ammonia sulfate (35.8%), urea (32.7%), anhydrous ammonia (20.5%), and ammonia nitrate (2.6%). These no-till farmer fertilizer practices may differ from conventional farmers who often use more anhydrous fertilizer. 

Fertilizer N rates have changed also with about 1/3 of farmers using less than .8# N/bushel of corn. About 28.4% apply 1-1.2#N/bushel, and 36.3% apply between .8-1#N/bushel of corn. The majority of no-till farmers (68.8%) plan to use less than 1# N/bushel of corn which has been a steady decline in the last few years. Either due to better genetics or higher fertilizer prices, farmers are trying to use less fertilizer while still maintaining, even increasing yields slightly, at least in corn. 

How farmers apply the N has also changed. Side-dressing N between the row after corn has emerged is still the most common application (69.1%), followed by at planting (63.9%), and pre-plant (39.6%). No-till farmers have continued to apply less N in the fall (only 12.4%) possibly due to high N prices and higher losses. 

Overall, fertilizer rates for potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) have dropped while micro-nutrient applications have increased. On soybeans, 71% of no-till farmers apply K and 55.2% applied P while micronutrients fertilizer applications have increased to 56.1%. On micro-nutrients, 47.3% apply boron and 29.2% apply manganese to soybeans while 52.7% apply boron and 24% apply manganese to corn. At planting the three most popular micronutrients in corn are sulfur, boron, and zinc. About 16.7% of no-till farmers even apply N to fertilizer their soybeans after they bloom. Farming will be starting soon!