Ralph Upton, Jr.
No-Tiller, Springerton, Ill.
CLASSROOM #20: Turning Troubled Soils Into a 4-Lane Highway for Roots with No-Till and Covers
Without commanding many headlines, Ralph Upton, Jr.’s farm near Springerton, Ill., has become a shining example of what can be accomplished with long-term no-tilling and cover crop applications, as he’s transformed fragipan soils — previously thought to be unfixable — into the centerpiece of a productive no-till operation. In fact, this soil evolution was so shocking that one researcher came out of retirement to study how it was done.
Drawing upon his collaborations with the late cover crop expert Mike Plumer and many other researchers, Upton shares the successes he’s seen using no-till and covers to break up hardpans and retain valuable soil moisture, including the effects he’s documented on the rooting depth of his cash crops through improved soil tilth and health.