Want to lower your costs of growing corn, and perhaps improve yields at the same time? Here are some of the tips submitted by 250 top corn growers who responded to Successful Farming magazine's Agro-Connect survey, sponsored by Mycogen Seeds.

1. Reduce tillage. Fully half of the farmers say that the biggest money-saving change they've made in recent years is reduced tillage. Some say they've gone to complete no-till, while others have become more selective in performing tillage operations. Typical comments are like this one from an Illinois farmer:
   
   "I have gone nearly 100% minimum tillage or no-till from conventional tillage. I have cut many passes, saving lots of hours on equipment and fuel." And from Nebraska: "We've gone to a total post herbicide program, and do no cultivating anymore. It save soil moisture."

2. Use higher planting populations and narrower rows. More than 10% of the farmers in this survey said they have increased planting populations recently to increase yields. Some say that with the improved genetics on the market today, they now plant for stands of 29,000-33,000 plants per acre.
   
   "Going to 20-inch rows gives us a fast canopy, so the soil does not dry out as fast," says a South Dakota farmer who has also increased his population stands. "Fast canopy also helps with weed control, so the corn itself gets all the moisture."

3. Get bigger equipment. Several farmers say they have moved up to 16-row planting equipment, and 8-row combines, to get over ground more quickly and reduce fuel costs per acre. Says a Wisconsin farmer, "We also bought a seed tender to fill our big planter faster."

4. Make in-season fertilizer applications. Several farmers say they apply at least part of their fertilizer in-season, when the crop needs it the most. "Our plan is to spoonfeed nitrogen," says an Illinois farmer. "We apply some of at planting, then sidedress more after the crop is growing." A Wisconsin farmer says, "We split the nitgrogen in half; 50% before planting, 50% when the crop is up."

Here are more tips from farmers who participated in the Agro-connect survey:

• Kentucky: "I spend a little extra money to get the planter really tuned up well before going to the field. Plus, I wait until the ground is dry and the soil temperature is right."

• Minnesota: "Growing Roundup Ready corn has improved my yields because the weeds are all taken care of with one or two sprayings."

• Nebraska: "New technology saves us labor and money. We can change seed populations and fertilizer applications on the go."

• Illinois: "We plant root worm resistant corn and sidedress 28% nitrogen into growing corn. And we wait for perfect dry soil conditions before planting. We don't worry about what the neighbor is doing."

• Ohio: "Our corn follows a wheat crop. So, we interseed the wheat with red clover to grow our own nitrogen. We plow it down in the fall. It also increases yields over commercial nitrogen."

And finally, a South Dakota farmer has this timeless tip for improving yields: "Pray harder for rain!"