When heavy rains hit the Midwest this growing season, it did more than saturate soils.

Since vertical-tillage implements debuted, they’ve been a bit controversial with no-tillers, with some feeling the tools violate the basic principles of no-tilling by disturbing the soil.

With only 300 acres to work with, I have to do everything possible to drive production and justify farming a relatively small piece of ground.

I tried no-till because of the potential savings I saw, but it’s brought us so much more. Making the switch to no-till has allowed us to raise three high-quality forage crops per year on the 270 acres we intensively farm in the San Joaquin Valley.

Judging from the number of articles and discussions threads on the Web about vertical tillage, it’s clear that no-tillers still have lots of questions about what the practice is.

No tillers have many cover-crop options that can improve soil tilth, warm up temperatures at planting time, manage pest problems and much more, according to experts who spoke to about 100 no-tillers attending the Ohio No-Till Council’s field day earlier this fall.

Five years ago, Nick and Luke Miller returned to Miller Farms near Oconomowoc, Wis., bringing with them a passion for change that works well with the no-till tradition their father, Bob, began 16 years ago.

I farm on the edge of the old lakebed region of northwestern Ohio. And while our land is flat (0% to 2% slope), we see a lot of variation that can affect nutrient management, erosion control and final yield.