Soil gets tired. After years of supporting a rotating cast of crops, the soil’s nutrient supply is often exhausted. The tilling, turning, and planting also degrade the organic matter in the soil and its ability to stay hydrated.

About 20 years ago, Ron, Robert and Earl Rayner of A Tumbling T Ranches in Goodyear, Ariz., began developing a no-till double-cropped cotton and wheat planting as part of an overall crop rotation they follow. This video chronicles their progress and highlights the success they've had in managing risks, sustaining productivity, economizing on water use, improving soil function, reducing soil temperature and developing a successful reduced-disturbance production system.

It would be easy to lower expectations when you’re only getting 12-14 inches of precipitation each year. But that’s not the case for Steve and Becky Camp, who converted to no-till and made big changes in their rotation to keep something growing on their land as much of the growing season as possible.

A study from the University of Florida indicates that Palmer amaranth can evolve life-history traits to increase its potential to grow and reproduce in various cropping systems.

A no-tiller asks an important question about weed and plant disease stewardship and what to do when your neighbors aren't on the same page as you are.

Integration of no-till, crop diversity and cover crops increases microbial activity and diversity and can boost crop yields by 15-30%, with the same or even reduced inputs, says USDA researcher Randy Anderson.