No-till is nothing new for the Reddick family. Brad Reddick remembers growing up on the 1,800-acre farm in Bardwell, Ky., watching his father no-till the rolling grounds and conventionally till the creek bottom grounds over 50 years ago. 

But Brad and his son, Joel, are taking the family’s conservation efforts to a whole new level. They were inspired to push their chips forward and go all in on cover crops in 2018, after attending the National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, Ky. 

“It was a light bulb moment for us,” Brad says. “Attending that conference and listening to the speakers, it turned the tables and made us go in the direction we’re continuing today, especially when it comes to planting green.”

The Reddicks traded in their conventional tillage equipment, and are now 100% no-till, with multi-species cover crops planted on every acre. They recently won the Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award, a prestigious honor recognizing extraordinary achievement in conservation practices. 

FAMILY BUSINESS. The Reddick Family’s 1800-acre operation is the gold standard for regenerative ag in the Bluegrass State. They won the prestigious Leopold Conservation Award in 2022. (L-R): Jordan Reddick, Amy Reddick, Brad Reddick, Ginger Reddick, Larry Joe Reddick, Joel Reddick, Makena Reddick, Jacob Reddick.

“We are grateful to receive the award and also be able to share with other farmers the successes and failures we come across every year,” Brad says. 

Their biggest motivation for taking a leap of faith in 2018 was erosion prevention. Reddick Farms gets nearly 50 inches…