Nematodes are often talked about in a quiet fearful voice. The image of the small microscopic worms can bring grown men to their knees. Unfortunately like many things in our world, a few? apples have ruined the entire bushel.

No-till producer Jerry Perkins of Worthington, Minn., said its been a long, lonely journey. His counterpart across the border, Al Miron, said he would quit farming before he would quit no-till on his farm near Crooks, S.D. He has run a no-till operation with a partner in that area of rolling hills for about 25 years.

At No-Till Farmer we often tell readers that we can share with you the ingredients for successful no-till practices, but to make them work on your farm, you need to write your own recipe.

No doubt most farmers are good stewards of the land and want to conserve it for themselves and future generations. To most farmers that means conserving their soil base and to others it means improving it which means practicing no-till.

On Nov. 12 2013, members of the U.S. agricultural lime industry met near Iowa State University to discuss improving the measurement of limestone reactivity to better predict pH changes in soils.

In the minds of many, a freshly tilled field is picturesque — clean and ready for the next planting. But according to a soil health expert, what looks good to the eye, isn’t always good for the soil — or a farmer’s bottom line.

Farm Foundation, NFP and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation announced the launch of a new initiative designed to bring attention to the critical role of soil health in the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is opening the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for new enrollments for federal fiscal year 2014.