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Martha Mintz

Martha Mintz

Since 2011, Martha has authored the highly popular “What I’ve Learned About No-Till” series that has appeared in every issue of No-Till Farmer since August of 2002.


Growing up on a cattle ranch in southeastern Montana, Martha is a talented ag writer and photographer who lives with her family in Billings, Montana.

Articles

ARTICLES

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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Adding Diversity and Livestock for a Stronger Bottom Line — Now and in the Future

Playing the long game means this no-tiller’s profits may be more impressive when viewed by the decade rather than the year.
By Martha Mintz posted on September 11, 2020 | Posted in Cover Crops, Nutrient Management, Soil Health, Water Management
Farmers want to see a profit. They want to see it every year and with every crop. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, but I want to consider long term potential benefits and compounding profits as much as short-term gain when weighing management strategies.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Securing Stability Through Stacked Enterprises and Stockpiled Carbon

With an eye on a variable future, no-tiller Jesse Hall diversifies his rotations and income streams for lasting success.
By Martha Mintz posted on August 4, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Nutrient Management
Stability is the goal and what drives nearly every decision on our farm. It can come in many forms. I want stability in yields, stability in soil conditions and, ultimately, stability in our farm’s overall economic health.
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Variety Stated: Advancing Cover Crop Genetics and Performance

Advances in cover crop species and variety evaluation, development and breeding will hopefully soon make seed bag tags with “Variety Not Stated” (VNS) the odd rarity, not the norm.
By Martha Mintz posted on July 24, 2020 | Posted in Cover Crops
T he steady rise of cover crop use and interest in recent years has plant breeders, geneticists, agronomists, cropping systems researchers, government agencies, universities and seed companies turning their attention to making the practice a success.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: No-Till and Cover Crops Give Tired Soils New Life

It was an uphill battle, but these Missouri no-tillers returned productivity to a heavily depleted farm.
By Martha Mintz posted on July 22, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Residue Management, Soil Health, Water Management
A cross-state move and knowing the potential of no-till bought our family and the land we purchased a fresh start. A commitment to cover crops gave us a mid-race boost we’re still riding.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: On-Farm Testing and Evaluation Lead to 100% No-Till Adoption

Crunching the numbers on no-till and other practices helps the Williams family dial in peak economic farm performance.
By Martha Mintz posted on May 28, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Equipment, Nutrient Management, Soil Health
Ignorance may be bliss, but it’s no way to farm. Instead of blindly seeking the highest yields and following conventional management recommendations, my wife, Kelli, and I work to track, evaluate and problem solve on the farm we started together.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: A New Legacy of Improving Economy, Profitability and Best Practices

Trent Profit builds on years of conservation practices to take his family farm to the next level.
By Martha Mintz posted on April 30, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Residue Management, Nutrient Management, Precision Ag
I WAS BORN into no-till and there’s a running joke I wouldn’t know how to drive a tractor straight if I had to thanks to the family’s quick adoption of guidance technology.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Cattle and Covers on Every Acre Help No-Tillers Drive Down Cost

Using cattle to manage corn-on-corn residue helped push this Iowa farm to 100% no-till. Now covers are taking them even further.
By Martha Mintz posted on April 8, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Residue Management, Nutrient Management, Soil Health
THE DAY WE realized we don’t need tillage to manage heavy corn-on-corn residue because we have cows to graze it was the day we were able to shift from dabbling in no-till to committing 100% 3 years ago.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Achieving Profits and Sustainability with a Properly Cycling System

In this no-tiller’s book, conservation practices must work for your soils and your bank account.
By Jack Herricks and Martha Mintz posted on February 21, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Soil Health, Water Management
The good thing about Cashton soils is they don’t dry out. The bad thing about Cashton soils is they don’t dry out. That’s the saying around here. It’s partly why I use cover crops like cereal rye.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Leveling Up and Paring Down for Better No-Till Results

Integrating no-till, then cover crops, cattle, compost, autoinducers and more are ramping up performance for this Colorado dryland producer.
By Curtis Sayles and Martha Mintz posted on January 24, 2020 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Nutrient Management, Soil Health
We keep hitting new levels with our no-till system. There’s no stopping and it keeps farming interesting — certainly more interesting than the traditional wheat-fallow rotation we used to follow.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Data-Guided Changes Help No-Till Farm Support Three Families

Equipment, technologies, inputs and more are all subject to evaluation — only the proven are maintained.
By Bryan Tomm and Martha Mintz posted on December 28, 2019 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Equipment, Crop Protection, Nutrient Management, Precision Ag, Soil Health
I'm very goal oriented. I spent 9 years working as a process engineer for ADM before our family made the move to my wife’s family farm in 2014. My corporate experience meant a lot of performance evaluations and structured goal setting, which I now apply on the farm.
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The No-Tillers Who Own the World's Largest Tractor

The No-Tillers Who Own the World's Largest Tractor

On Sept. 1, 2020, at the 2020 Farm Progress Show Media Event, No-Till Farmer editors met up with Robert and Randy Williams, two no-tilling brothers who own the Big Bud 747, the world’s largest tractor.

The Williams brothers talked shop about what makes the Big Bud unique, what it does on their farm and what their no-till model looks like.

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Events

Soil Management Summit

Date: 12/15/20
Location: Mankato, MN
The Summit, formerly known as the Conservation Tillage Conference (CTC), features keynote speakers, breakout sessions, table talks and vendor booths. Attendees who stay for the entire conference will be offered CCA continuing education units (CEUs).
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