The Shirley Plantation traces its roots back to 1613 as the oldest continuous farming operation in North America. Charles Carter, the 11th generation of the family, says it has turned into an extremely diversified, highly innovative no-till operation.

Back in 1973, I never thought I would be a lifetime farmer. But when Dad decided to retire, corn was $4 a bushel and nitrogen was just 3 cents per pound. The future looked bright for agriculture. Most times, it still does.

Hallsville, MO., no-tiller Frank Martin quit raising hogs in 2001 and turned his focus to doing a better job of raising crops — with an emphasis on reducing soil loss. For him, that meant going no-till and integrating cover crops into his system.

While no-tillers in many area of the country didn’t avoid having to deal with early summer flooded fields, the results generally weren’t as bad as for neighbors using more extensive tillage. Even with sizeable crop losses, soil losses weren’t as significant for no-tillers.

As a spirited young farmer, Von Mohler drove from Sidney, Ohio, to Hopkinsville, Ky., to see no-tiller Harry Young. He didn’t find Young, but did see impressive no-till fields.