For over three decades, researchers at Michigan’s Kellogg Research Station have measured yield, profitability, soil aggregation, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and soil moisture in both tilled and no-tilled fields. 

Located at Hickory Corners, Michigan State Univ. researchers have found continuous no-till consistently out yielded other tillage systems after 15 years. After that time, they found no-till corn and soybean yields dramatically pushed ahead.

Higher Infiltration Rates

Looking at soil moisture and drainage issues, no-till showed greater soil aggregation than conventional tillage. Over an 11-year period, the no-till fields had the highest infiltration rates among four cropping systems.

No-till also helped crops become more resilient to drought and flooding due to improved water holding capacity and improved soil drainage. This led to no-till easily becoming the more profitable tillage system choice.

Further research revealed the best way to reduce carbon losses and sequester carbon is by protecting soil organic carbon found within large soil aggregates. As a result, no-till helps soils form larger soil aggregates that store more soil carbon. 

The research also shows soil organic matter gains can be readily lost with a single tillage event. When converting Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land back to cropland even with only one tillage trip, extensive carbon sequestration and soil aggregation gains were lost. 

This highlights a key difference between continuous no-till and rotational no-till in regard to carbon sequestration. 

Evaluating greenhouse gas emissions 6 months after converting CRP ground to row crops, the scientists found conventional tillage released as much as 100 times more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

No-Till Trims Costs

Conventional tillage had greater production costs due to labor and fuel costs, which ultimately led to less profit than with no-till. This increased no-till profitability is due to both reduced costs and increased yield.  

The researchers also recognized that combining cover crops with no-till may be more effective at building soil carbon over time than no-till alone. Plus, reducing fertilizer is likely to do more to reduce overall global warming than no-till by itself.

In summary, this Michigan work represents one of the more comprehensive long-term scientific studies ever done in regard to showing the many benefits of no-till.