Even though they may be as different as night and day, no-till innovators were honored for their ideas and methods that they brought to no-till farming at the eighth annual National No-Tillage Conference in Des Moines, Iowa.

The fourth annual No-Till Innovator Awards, co-sponsored by Zeneca Agricultural Products and No-Till Farmer, honored the contributions to no-till farming.

No-Till Organization

The Conservation Action Project (CAP) in Defiance, Ohio was originally intended to be a 3-year plan to increase conservation tillage acreage in the area. More than a decade later, the organization continues to grow.

Started in 1988 to improve water quality in Lake Erie, the group continues to serve farmers in seven counties. CAP has been instrumental in expanding no-till throughout northwestern Ohio by linking farmers, ag suppliers and government agencies together. No-till acreage in the area has increased 45 percent since the group was established.

No-Till Crop Production

No-tilling 1,500 acres on his Mazon, Ill., farm, Doug Harford grows corn and soybeans with his wife, Debby, and their four children. To document the changes in soil quality from no-tilling, Harford implemented a grid soil sampling system, which has allowed him to monitor the increased cation exchange capacity, organic matter and soil tilth changes in his no-till soils over the last 15 years.

Harford also continues to promote no-till practices, as he has given over 400 presentations to various clubs and gatherings on no-till, precision farming and long-range planning.

No-Till Research, Education

As the Dakota Lakes Research Farm Manager near Pierre…