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This paper reviews current changes in seedbed preparation, planting and cultivation toward reduced input where crops are planted without prior seedbed preparation, i.e. no-till. Herbicides are usually used to control weeds and post-planting cultivation may be eliminated. Financial, labor and machine input data are compared for several systems. Also additional factors which help explain increased use of no-till are discussed. These include timeliness (freedom from narrow windows of time) environmental and other factors. The potential impact of these recent trends on the design of propulsion systems used in agriculture, including tractors, self propelled combines and sprayers is discussed.