Strip-Till Farmer has announces the launch of its official Facebook fan page as a new platform to communicate with subscribers. Fans of Strip-Till Farmer will get quick access to the latest industry news, in-field updates, product launches and strip-till events. They'll also have a direct link to some of the contents of the bi-weekly Strip-Till Strategies e-newsletter.

This planting season, more than 150 farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota are trialing the first offering from Monsanto's Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) research platform - FieldScripts. FieldScripts will be planted on more than 8,300 acres in Illinois alone.

Orthman Manufacturing has added two new members to its growing dealer support network. Kyle Frazier is a regional product specialist for the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin; Paul Hartness has been named territory manager for North and South Dakota and Minnesota.

Thurston Manufacturing Company, Thurston, Nebraska, is proud to announce the asset purchase of a Spencer, Iowa, based company, Simonsen Iron Works. Nick Jensen, co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer of Thurston said, "This acquisition is an exciting opportunity for Thurston Manufacturing, furthering company diversity into a larger number of markets and industries by continuing to operate Simonsen Iron Works as a competitive and reliable provider of contract manufacturing services".

Matt Madsen, Ph.D., of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and representatives from Aquatrols Corporation of America recently presented new findings on a patent-pending surfactant seed coating technology at the International Symposium on Adjuvants for Agrochemicals (ISAA).

The Two Blades Foundation (2Blades), a not-for-profit organization focused on the development and deployment of durable disease resistance for agriculture, announced the April 16 issuance of a key patent for gene editing based on the use of TAL effectors.

Cogent3D, Inc, announces contract award to assist USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to re-engineer their mobile workforce with a new Mobile Conservation Planner App using iCropTrak to allow NRCS staff to spend more time with client collaboration and conservation efforts in the field.

Jerry Baysinger of Bruning, Neb., shares his strategy for hitting the nutrient zone in strips, despite a wet spring. Baysinger adapts his operation by off-setting strips with each pass of his 12-row strip-till unit to leave a wider gap and plants off the side of each strip with his 24-row planter.

Leica Geosystems today released Leica SteerDirect ES, the latest retro-fit electric steering system. Customers can install the assisted steering solution effortlessly into all major brands and models. SteerDirect ES reduces input costs and operator fatigue.

SmarTrax MD is a new simple-to-install mechanical drive steering system that allows growers throughout Raven's global markets to seamlessly transfer the ability to steer automatically across their fleet of vehicles, including multiple tractors, combines, windrowers and more.