Farmer Profile
The Challenge of Change
by David Morris
Five years ago, Lawrence Taylor laid out a big challenge for himself. He decided to downsize.
His operation, near Londesboro in Huron County, had included more than 1,000 acres of cash crops and a small grain elevator; he wanted to shift to a smaller scale (about 200 acres), in a way that would be simple, yet profitable. He also wanted to try a new tillage approach -- that is, growing corn in heavy clay without a moldboard plow.
Lawrence’s experience with no-till had convinced him of its benefits. He had found it relatively easy to grow soybeans and winter wheat no-till. However, he had been unsatisfied with no-tilling corn on heavy soil, because of the tendency for the seed slot to re-open as the soil dried. The test of his system would be whether he could maintain corn yields comparable to those attainable with plowing. Full Story
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