The NASS and the Natural Resources Conservation Service surveyed about 34,000 producers between May and September 2022. Of that number, about 84% said they had implemented conservation tillage practices, the second-highest reported conservation practice.

A hotter atmosphere is causing rain to fall in harder bursts, pushing back planting seasons and drowning crops. At the same time as human-driven climate change is juicing precipitation, Corn Belt farming practices such as installing underground drainage tiles and leaving fields bare after harvest are changing how water moves across the landscape and into waterways.

Due to the previous wet autumn of 2019, the farm had planted over-yeared seed in conditions that were unsuitable for cultivating. It was a backwards step and 2020 ended up being worse than 2019. So Brixworth Farming made the decision to do more cultivations where it was needed, to keep the ability to direct-drill. The No-Till Passport series is brought to you by Martin Industries.

John Deere has launched a new series of strip-till equipment available for order in February 2023. Tillage product manager Steve Sporrer gives us a first look at one of the new units in action.

No-till production, a type of conservation tillage in which farmers plant directly into remaining crop residue without tilling, has increased substantially for wheat and corn over the past two decades.

For over thirty years I managed farms in northwest and northcentral Iowa for absentee farm owners whom I worked closely with to make soil and water conservation an important part of our farm plans. I convinced my farm operators to stop moldboard plowing, move to chisel plows and eventually leave soybean stubble untilled in the fall.

A decade ago, Kenya made the mistake of banning GMOs due to political pressures from European-funded activist groups and widespread anxiety based on scientific ignorance. It’s time for Kenya to catch up — and now we will. The No-Till Passport series is brought to you by Martin Industries.