Now don’t search for a dictionary to make sure that’s not an insult. It’s a compliment. No-till farming, with cover crops and crop diversity, is transformational. 

I’ll credit my friend Scott McKain for this multi-syllable term, transformational. As a farm boy in Indiana, Scott was elected national secretary of FFA. Today he’s a top professional speaker. He has written books about outstanding businesses and organizations that he has described as “Distinctive” and “Iconic.” His next book will focus on ones that are “transformational.”  

A transformation is a dramatic change. It can be sudden, or over many years. For individual farmers, the transformation to no-till may have started small. Perhaps on the “back 40,” out of sight of curious neighbors. After a few years of experimenting and adjusting, the whole farm was transformed.

In the U.S., continuous no-till farmers are still a small minority, even after more than 50 years of research and development proving the benefits of the practice. Less than 20% of our major crops are grown with continuous no-till (including strip-till), cover crops and crop rotation. 

The good news is that the farmers who are successful with no-till are a “community” who believe in what they created. Scott McKain would say you’ve created a “culture that stands for something beyond profits.” And with a no-till system you…