In 1993, Levi Neuharth’s father went to his banker and told him he was going to sell all of his tillage equipment to buy a sprayer and no-till drill. 

That was the start of Prairie Paradise Farms’ move to a sustainable farming system. In the nearly three decades since, Levi and his wife, Crystal, have continued building on that no-till foundation by committing to the principles of soil health on their Fort Pierre, S.D., operation. In 2021, the couple received the South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award for their efforts.

Cover the Soil with Diversity

One of the primary ways the Neuharths imitate nature is by feeding their 2,300 acres of cropland and 3,000 acres of grassland with living roots and keeping the ground covered with a diversity of crops. 

“It’s just as important to feed the livestock below ground as it is above ground,” Levi says. The Neuharths have grown several crops over the years, including oats, spring and winter wheat, barley, corn, sudan, millet, milo, teff grass, flax, lentils, peas and sunflowers. They warn no-tillers not to cheat their crop rotations because even lower-earning crops have an important role to play.

“Peas might not be the most profitable crop we raise, but the…