When our forefathers first sailed to this country and started working American soil for food, they had no idea that their methods were actually hurting the productivity of the soil. After all, the vast prairies of this continent had millions of years to build up proper carbon, nitrogen and potassium levels. If tilling the soil was actually draining those nutrients and hurting its productivity, it certainly wasn’t apparent to early settlers.

As urban areas stretch further into the countryside, adding more acres often requires no-tillers to buy or rent land located miles from their center of operation.

Pesticides and fertilizers are such key components for successful no-tillage that Merlin Jones wants to be prepared for a worst-case scenario of tighter restrictions by the Environmental Pro­tection Agency (EPA).