Mike Beer

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NAME: Mike Beer

FARM: Beer Ranch

LOCATION: Keldron, S.D.

YEARS NO-TILLING: 24

CROPS: Spring wheat, winter wheat, corn, sunflowers, flax, millet, oats, green peas, yellow peas, chickpeas, soybeans and forage crops

In the late 1980s, farmers in my region seemed to be stuck on a production plateau, or were even losing ground. Everyone was growing only spring wheat or barley and leaving half their acres in black fallow every year.

The amount of wind and water erosion occurring on our rolling hills was discouraging. It just wasn’t economically feasible to continue in this manner.

At the time I was studying agronomy at South Dakota State University and was introduced to no-till through my classes. Dwayne Beck was just getting no-till research going at Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Pierre, S.D., and I interviewed several farmers that were trying out no-till for my senior seminar. I thought if they were no-tilling at Pierre maybe we could make it work a little further west, too.

Prior to no-till, seeding into stubble involved working it so the drill could get through. This either dried out the ground or created hard clumps. The resulting stand was very uneven and not very productive.

When I graduated from college in 1991 and started farming I also took a seat on the Corson County Conservation District board. I encouraged the board to invest in a John Deere 750 no-till drill that farmers could rent. I used that drill to get no-till going…