Brazilian soil scientist touts the benefits of continuous no-till, diverse cropping rotations and cover crops to sequester carbon and improve soil and yields
Long-time no-tiller Doug Harford was among the earliest pioneering conservation farmers to break ground on drainage, yield mapping, grid soil sampling and strip-till
Back in 1973, I never thought I would be a lifetime farmer. But when Dad decided to retire, corn was $4 a bushel and nitrogen was just 3 cents per pound. The future looked bright for agriculture. Most times, it still does.
A tillage study was established in 1981 at the University of Nebraska Rogers Memorial Farm, 10 miles east of Lincoln, to gain experience with various tillage systems. In 2009, the long-term no-till fields were the highest-yielding plots by far.
Gypsum applications on no-till fields could decrease surface crusting while improving aeration and water infiltration, thus aiding crop emergence, according to Warren Dick, an Ohio State University soil scientist.
While most Corn Belt no-tillers grow only corn and soybeans, Charlie Hammer prefers a three-way rotation. The operator of Hammer & Kavazanjian Farms with his wife Nancy Kavazanjian at Beaver Dam, Wis., prefers a no-till rotation evenly split between corn, soybeans and wheat in the farm’s 2,300-acre operation.
My first experience with no-tilling began back in 1978 when I conducted a study for my master’s thesis on planter performance with various tillage systems. I visited 150 producers and observed their planters being used in the field.
Our first serious no-till experiences in northwestern Ohio pretty much paralleled the introduction of the John Deere 750 no-till drill in the late 1980s. After seeing it run for the first time, my immediate thought was that this no-till drill had a chance to make a major impact on our agriculture.
To maximize above-ground profits, Ed Winkle maintains that no-tillers must be attuned to the basics of what’s happening under the ground. The certified crop adviser with HyMark Consulting in Blanchester, Ohio, says a proper balance of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon is critical to harvesting top no-till yields.
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In this 2025 National No-Tillage Conference session preview, Rockwell City, Iowa, no-tiller James Hepp checks in with a look at his highly modified Case IH 1200 pivot-fold no-till planter.
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