Other crops make more money than wheat for Palco, Kan., no-tiller Mike McClellan, but its residue increases the yields and profitability of the other crops in the 5-year rotation.

When the owners of Cronin Farms near Gettysburg, S.D., compared input costs to net profits in 1989, it was clear there was room for improvement in their farming process. Together with their farm manager of 41 years, Dan Forgey, and the rest of the farm’s employees, they began investigating the benefits of no-till.

The first time I saw what Dwayne Beck was doing on the irrigation research farm near Redfield, S.D. (before he developed the Dakota Lakes Research Farm), I knew we were on the verge of a new type of crop production in our area.

I grew up in a family of farmers who saw early on the advantages of reduced tillage to save soil and water.