During a recent stop on the Conservation in Action tour, Kurt Stiefvater was handed the microphone to talk about the no-till operation he and his family have built over the last quarter century. 

More than a few people probably didn’t know how close that moment was to not happening. The fourth-generation farmer gave credit to several mentors in the audience for helping him through the difficult transition from tilled soils to no-till.

Persistence has paid off. This year, Kurt and his family were awarded with the Conservation Legacy Award by the American Soybean Assn. for the Upper Midwest Region of the U.S., and they were also named the South Dakota FFA Foundation Family of the Year in 2024. 

The family utilizes a diverse crop rotation, integrated livestock and cover crops to boost soil health and resiliency for the 1,800-acre operation near Salem, S.D. 

“I didn’t have a lot of failures doing this — I had a lot of learning experiences,” Stiefvater told attendees in May. “When I started no tilling I didn’t understand the soil, so didn’t know what I was doing the first 10 years. I understand now how soil…