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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

No-Till Contributes to Cully Brothers Farm’s Longevity and Economic Success

Erosion, yields and economics led the Cully brothers to try no-till, while improving equipment and crop protection technologies have kept them at it.
By Scott Cully with Edward and Wayne Cully and Martha Mintz posted on December 17, 2016 | Posted in Crop Protection, Seeding & Planting
My family has been dabbling in no-till since the late 1970s. My father, Edward Cully, and uncle, Wayne Cully, have farmed together since 1955 and now, at the ages of 84 and 81, respectively, I think they can at least somewhat credit their continuing career in farming to no-till.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

No-Till, Cover Crops and Wheat Pull Farm Out of a Yield Rut

Yields had stalled for Dick and Chris Nissen until no-till, tiling, cover crops and wheat helped them manage water issues and improve their soils.
By Chris Nissen and Martha Mintz posted on November 19, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops, Seeding & Planting, Water Management
Our farm hit a plateau in the 1990s. Yields were flat and we just weren’t making the gains we thought we should be. It’s not that we sought out no-till as the magic solution; we just knew we had to try something different, as conventional tillage wasn’t cutting it.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Diversity, No-Till and Continuous Cropping Bring Big Impacts to Bottom Line

Moving from a tilled wheat-fallow rotation to no-till and pulse crops has amplified Gordon Stoner’s production and profits.
By Gordon Stoner and Martha Mintz posted on October 29, 2016 | Posted in Crop Protection, Equipment, Seeding & Planting
Pulse crops have facilitated some massive changes on my farm and to our region as a whole in the last two decades. My wife Bonnie and I are the fourth generation of my family to farm the great glacial plains that make up Northeastern Montana.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Second Chance at No-Till Proves Successful

Dale Holland jumped back into no-till after his father, counted among the earliest no-till adopters, had to give up the practice due to weeds.
By Dale Holland and Martha Mintz posted on September 12, 2016 | Posted in Nutrient Management, Residue Management, Seeding & Planting
We have a lot of eyes watching us when we farm these days. While we used to be surrounded by fellow farmers, now we’re farming basically in the suburbs of Suffolk, Va.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Rejuvenating Acres and Ramping Up Soil Productivity

No-till is just one component of the system Dan DeSutter is using to break up compaction, store water, increase organic matter and improve yields.
By Dan DeSutter and Martha Mintz posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops, Precision Agriculture, Seeding & Planting
My dad gets the credit for taking the initial steps of reducing tillage on our farm, but I can probably take some credit for pushing us into a full no-till system. And I do mean system, because no-till is just the tiny tip of the very large iceberg that is our farm management strategy today.
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What I've Learned From No-Tilling

More Moisture with a Side of Mustard Takes Dryland Farm to New Level

Gordon Gallup credits moisture savings and precise fertilizer placement for his early no-till success, while mustard has reduced pests and nitrogen needs.
By Gordon Gallup and Martha Mintz posted on June 11, 2016 | Posted in Nutrient Management, Seeding & Planting, Water Management
Dryland with only 16 inches of annual rainfall means farming a lot of acres if you want to support a family and turn a profit in eastern Idaho. That also means farming a lot of hours — at least it did when we were farming conventionally.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Adding Cattle Yields Surprising No-Till Results

Once a no-tiller by necessity, John Stigge continues to push the limits of his Kansas farm by experimenting with cover-crop mixes and grazing cattle.
By John Stigge and Martha Mintz posted on May 14, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops
Desperation pushed us into no-till. It was the early 1980s and it wasn’t a great time to be a farmer. It also wasn’t a great time to need new equipment, which we did, unfortunately. We were out of money so instead of buying big new tractors and heavy new tillage implements, we made a few tweaks to our planter, took a deep breath and started no-tilling our crops.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Cover Crops Take Root for Indiana No-Tiller

Jamie Scott became the go-to cover crop guy for an expanding group of neighboring farmers after success with the practice on his own farm.
By Jamie Scott and Martha Mintz posted on April 16, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops, Soil Health
A little nudging from the former owners of some of our farms helped move us to 100% no-till in the early 1980s. A little more nudging and before you know it we were diversifying our farm — and a large percentage of our neighboring farms — with cover crops.
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Buerkle Farm
What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Covers, Continuous Cropping Advance No-Till Game

Dan Buerkle finds benefits of a continuous cropping system have ramped up soil health and made weed control more economical and effective.
By Dan Buerkle and Martha Mintz posted on May 18, 2015 | Posted in Cover Crops, Nutrient Management, Seeding & Planting, Soil Health
Leaving fields in fallow, and heavily tilling to keep them that way, is a deeply ingrained tradition in the often-parched southeastern corner of Montana, where I farm with my wife of 41 years, Lana.
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Cover Seeding

Keep Covers in Your Rotation Without Breaking the Bank

No-tillers can reduce the cost of their cover-crop program and still keep most of the benefits by closely examining their seeding rates and methods and potentially trimming back mixes.
By Martha Mintz posted on April 17, 2015 | Posted in Cover Crops, Equipment, Seeding & Planting, Soil Health
With corn prices looking a little more bear than bull these days, many no-tillers may be looking for places to trim their input costs. Fair or unfair, the newest management darling of no-tillers — cover crops — may find themselves in the crosshairs.
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