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NAME: Mike Belan

LOCATION: Oil Springs, Ontario

FARM: Belan Farms

YEARS NO-TILLING: 26

CROPS: Corn, soybeans and winter wheat

High interest rates were the push my dad and uncle needed to make the switch to no-till on our farm. They had long raised wheat, corn and soybeans on our generally flat Brookston clay fields that sit just 30 miles north and south, respectively of Lake Erie and Lake Huron.

It’s not that we were pushed into no-till exactly; it was just a smart financial decision at the time. As interest rates climbed ever higher through the late 1980s, replacing equipment on credit would have meant paying dearly. Instead, my dad, Mike Belan Sr., and uncle, Tony Belan, decided in 1991 to liquidate their plows, cultivators and big tractors. They kept two tractors and used their proceeds to purchase a no-frills 30-foot John Deere 750 no-till drill, which we still own and use to this day.

Mike Belan

We quit tillage cold turkey and have been absolutely zero-till since then. It was a money decision at the time, but 25 years later we’re very thankful we stopped tilling our soils and didn’t have the equipment around to till even when it was tempting.

In recent years we’ve learned how soil health relates to growing a good crop. And not just in the good years. Our goal isn’t to grow bumper crops — it’s to grow consistent crops. Having soil that’s alive and working has helped counter some of…