Uncertainty about cost-effective methods of broadcast vs. subsurface fertilizer application and soil test interpretation for ridge-till and no-till systems may be a major factor in the slow adoption or abandonment of these systems by Iowa farmers. Broadcast fertilizer is cheaper than banding, but seems inefficient because fertilizers are not incorporated (no-till) or incorporated too late (ridge-till) for plant needs. From a soil and water quality perspective, the lack of incorporation of fertilizers, especially phosphorus fertilizer, could hamper system benefits in reducing nutrient losses in water runoff because, although reduced, the runoff contains more soluble nutrients.