Grower and livestock producer Jordan Reimnitz has seen the benefits of going completely no-till on his family farm.

I've served in township government for a quarter century. One never-ending task and expense is cleaning silt from road ditches and culverts — the product of field erosion — and putting it back where it belongs.

Fourth generation farmer Derek Van De Hey and his family may not become millionaires overnight, but over the long haul they expect their switch to a 100% no-till, cover crop system will save them nearly that amount, or possibly more.

Taking the "long view" of farming comes more naturally to some growers than it does for others. But for Brian Gunderson it may come more naturally because his farm in Waterford, Wis., has been in the family for 170 years.

Back in 2009, Adam Chappell was at the end of his rope. Trying to control pigweeds on the 9,000-acre farm he shares with his brother, Seth, in Cotton Plant, Ark., was a constant fight. They were making 15 trips across the field in per growing season with sprayers and various tillage equipment, spending anywhere from $100-$200 an acre on weed control.

When Roger Black switched to no-tilling in south-central Kansas more than two decades ago, he was searching for ways to reduce erosion in his silty-loam bottomland fields, as well as reduce fuel and labor costs.

It’s certainly possible to no-till high-yielding crops in northwest Ohio, but for Jan and Cindy Layman, it’s no cakewalk, either.