Along with enjoying numerous environmental benefits, veteran no-tillers for many years have cashed in on no-till’s additional profitability as a result of labor savings and reduced equipment costs. In fact, many growers credit no-till with $100 or more per acre in increased net profit compared to using other tillage systems.

With benefits such as boosting the soil’s biological capability, improving nutrient cycling, water retention, water holding capacity, soil tilth and much more, most no-tillers are totally sold on this reduced tillage system. Add cover crops and maybe a few other conservation practices to the system and the economic benefits with no-till can be dramatic.

Jaw-Dropping Results

Researchers at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, Mich., recently published results from a long-term study started in 1989 that shows no-till offers consistent benefits to the environment, yields and economics. The data from scientists Sarah Cusser and Nick Haddad confirm what many long-time no-till farmers already know — that significant boosts in yield and profitability can be realized by reducing tillage. 

Analyzing data from a continuing research study spanning more than 3 decades, the researchers explored the long-term agricultural and environmental effects of converting to no-till.

“Every year for more than 30 years, the yield in no-till treatments increased vs. the yield in tilled treatments — every year,” Haddad notes. “I would have expected a point where the yields and economic benefits reached their peak, but they continued to rise. It was jaw dropping.”

The increase in yields for a…