The challenges Ryan Boyd and his father, Jim, tackled many years ago to establish zero-till on their Manitoba farm has paid dividends many times, especially last spring.

One of the best compliments Mike Werling ever received was a couple of springs ago, when a scientist for the federal government examined a soil pit on one of Werling’s fields.

For Shawn McRae, more than two decades of onfarm research shows that thinking holistically about no-till soil health isn’t just a feel-good decision — it puts more crops in the bin and, more importantly, more money in the bank.

The Hula family no-tills 5,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, barley and oats in four counties surrounding Charles City, Va. The 100% no-till operation is located along the banks of the James River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay where nitrogen runoff is becoming a major concern.

The main reason I went into no-till was — as it is for many other no-tillers — due to labor issues. My Dad had a heart attack in 2000 and wasn’t able to help as much anymore. I was just killing myself trying to keep up with farming and the cattle and everything else.