A lot can change in 30 years. In the early 1990s, Perrysville, Ohio, brothers Steve and Carl Ayers were adopting no-till and cover crops on 700 acres of continuous corn on their 650-cow dairy operation, creating a standard for other growers in the area to emulate. 

Today’s operation includes Steve’ wife, Deb, his son Jesse, Carl’s wife, Janet, and his daughter Kathy Davis. They farm is on the western edge of the Appalachian area of Ohio, where the farmland is terminal moraine, littered with hills and valleys of all shapes and sizes, various light, non-organic, mineral-based soils.  

The Ayers’ interest in no-till dates back to 1969, thanks to a neighbor who bought a no-till planter. He planted a large, hilly field for the brothers. Ten inches of rain fell overnight on July 4 that year, causing flooding which tore out fences and resulted in livestock getting out. 

“When we went past our bowl-shaped no-till field that funneled into a drainage area, water running off that field was clear, but everywhere else, there was just mud,” says Carl. “That convinced us to try no-till, since a lot of our ground is hilly.”

The Ayers bought a no-till planter later that summer and converted to 100% no-till within 3 years. 

Many Uses for Cereal Rye

The Ayers began using cover crops on 100%…