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.

A good no-tiller is apt to be a patient person. In Kansas, that virtue has been tested to the extreme as we work our way through one of the worst droughts of the past 75 years.

When you walk across a no-till field, Jill Clapperton says you’re walking on the rooftop of a bustling community. No-tilled soils teem with life, and with the right management techniques, you can use these busy organisms to your benefit, says the the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada soil biologist stationed at the Lethbridge Research Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta.