For many of you, and for us at Orthman Research Farm near Lexington, Neb., the pre-plant tillage operations for spring 2013 will be underway very soon. Tillage via strip-till methods will be our way, but how about many of you as you consider the fertilization part of the puzzle? How will that be happening for you?

Fierceâ„¢ Herbicide (active ingredients: flumioxazin + pyroxasulfone), the newest residual from Valent U.S.A. Corporation, has received US EPA registration in soybeans. Fierce, which received registration for corn earlier this year, is now available to soybean growers for the longest-lasting, broadest spectrum control of broadleaves and grasses, including species that are resistant to glyphosate and other chemistries.

Strip-till certainly isn’t a secret or new concept. For more than 20 years, Charlie Hammer and his wife Nancy Kavazanjian, have been strip-tilling corn on their nearly 1,900 acres near Beaver Dam, Wis.

DuPont and Monsanto announced today a series of technology licensing agreements that will expand the range of seed products they can offer farmers. The agreements include a multi-year, royalty-bearing license for Monsanto’s next-generation soybean technologies in the United States and Canada.

Orthman Manufacturing introduces its 1tRIPr in all-new 3-meter transport configurations. These new strip-tillage machine configurations feature an all-new hinge design that combines Orthman's patented internal folding cylinder with a new split hinge, which allows the toolbar to fold under 3 meters for transport down the road.

Todd Mooberry, strip-till farmer in Low Point, Ill., introduces his "strip-freshener" unit that he designed and is selling to Yetter for production. Runs in the spring over strips made in the fall to help them dry out and apply fertilizer to the strip. Also able to improve the ride of his planter, at least 8-10 percent.

BASF's Crop Protection division announced today the federal registration of Zidua® herbicide in soybeans. Growers battling tough-to-control, small-seeded broadleaf weeds and grasses will now have the longest-lasting residual control of today's toughest weeds.

Valent U.S.A. Corporation and Monsanto Company will expand their long-standing collaboration in Roundup Ready PLUSâ„¢ Weed Management Solutions with new cash-back incentives to help growers protect their herbicide investment in the 2013 season for soybeans.

Approximately 30 percent of the world’s total land is too acidic to support crop production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, a solution may lie in a strand of corn that is able to grow successfully in acidic soil, thanks to a genetic variation recently identified with help from the University of Florida Genetics Institute.

It was the one thing that was on the mind of most everyone at the 2013 annual outlook conference of the U.S. Agriculture Department.