When I'm asked what the primary differences are between no-tilling in the Palouse region of Idaho and Washington versus the Midwest, the discussion starts with our steep slopes.

We're no doubt biased, but my family and I think there are few more breathtaking views of production agriculture than seen from the highest point of our farm in the Palouse region of eastern Washington. In midsummer, flowing fields of crops — which may include wheat, canola, barley, sunflowers, mustard, alfalfa, peas and lentils — stretch across the hills to the horizon.