The Midwest is dry and experiencing drought problems, especially the Mississippi river with reduced barge traffic. Many no-tillers want to know what is the probability of a drought next year?

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.

The conditions in Oklahoma and Kansas especially continue to deteriorate. Wish I could say something positive. I guess we don’t have to worry about flooding at the moment.

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.