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Martha Mintz

Martha Mintz

Since 2011, Martha has authored the highly popular “What I’ve Learned About No-Till” series that has appeared in every issue of No-Till Farmer since August of 2002.


Growing up on a cattle ranch in southeastern Montana, Martha is a talented ag writer and photographer who lives with her family in Billings, Montana.

Articles

ARTICLES

What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Finding Security in No-Till and Diversity

No-tilling broke Mike Beer, and eventually his neighbors, out of a spring wheat rut and into crop diversity and economic success.
By Mike Beer and Martha Mintz posted on February 11, 2017 | Posted in Crop Protection, Residue Management
In the late 1980s, farmers in my region seemed to be stuck on a production plateau, or were even losing ground. Everyone was growing only spring wheat or barley and leaving half their acres in black fallow every year.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Cover Crops Transform Challenging Acres to Efficient Yield Leaders

No-tilling and cover cropping help Mark Turner reduce fertility needs and take fields considered too poor to grow corn to 200-bushel yields.
By Mark Turner and Martha Mintz posted on January 14, 2017 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Nutrient Management
Pastures used to help hold the soil in place on the rolling hills that dominate our Kentucky farm. My dad raised cattle, so he would rotate fields between corn and hay. When he eventually retired, he liquidated the herd and shifted to row crops.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

No-Till Contributes to Cully Brothers Farm’s Longevity and Economic Success

Erosion, yields and economics led the Cully brothers to try no-till, while improving equipment and crop protection technologies have kept them at it.
By Scott Cully with Edward and Wayne Cully and Martha Mintz posted on December 17, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Crop Protection
My family has been dabbling in no-till since the late 1970s. My father, Edward Cully, and uncle, Wayne Cully, have farmed together since 1955 and now, at the ages of 84 and 81, respectively, I think they can at least somewhat credit their continuing career in farming to no-till.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

No-Till, Cover Crops and Wheat Pull Farm Out of a Yield Rut

Yields had stalled for Dick and Chris Nissen until no-till, tiling, cover crops and wheat helped them manage water issues and improve their soils.
By Chris Nissen and Martha Mintz posted on November 19, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Water Management
Our farm hit a plateau in the 1990s. Yields were flat and we just weren’t making the gains we thought we should be. It’s not that we sought out no-till as the magic solution; we just knew we had to try something different, as conventional tillage wasn’t cutting it.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Diversity, No-Till and Continuous Cropping Bring Big Impacts to Bottom Line

Moving from a tilled wheat-fallow rotation to no-till and pulse crops has amplified Gordon Stoner’s production and profits.
By Gordon Stoner and Martha Mintz posted on October 29, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Equipment, Crop Protection
Pulse crops have facilitated some massive changes on my farm and to our region as a whole in the last two decades. My wife Bonnie and I are the fourth generation of my family to farm the great glacial plains that make up Northeastern Montana.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Second Chance at No-Till Proves Successful

Dale Holland jumped back into no-till after his father, counted among the earliest no-till adopters, had to give up the practice due to weeds.
By Dale Holland and Martha Mintz posted on September 17, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Residue Management, Nutrient Management
We have a lot of eyes watching us when we farm these days. While we used to be surrounded by fellow farmers, now we’re farming basically in the suburbs of Suffolk, Va.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Rejuvenating Acres and Ramping Up Soil Productivity

No-till is just one component of the system Dan DeSutter is using to break up compaction, store water, increase organic matter and improve yields.
By Dan DeSutter and Martha Mintz posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Precision Agriculture
My dad gets the credit for taking the initial steps of reducing tillage on our farm, but I can probably take some credit for pushing us into a full no-till system. And I do mean system, because no-till is just the tiny tip of the very large iceberg that is our farm management strategy today.
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What I've Learned From No-Tilling

More Moisture with a Side of Mustard Takes Dryland Farm to New Level

Gordon Gallup credits moisture savings and precise fertilizer placement for his early no-till success, while mustard has reduced pests and nitrogen needs.
By Gordon Gallup and Martha Mintz posted on June 11, 2016 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Nutrient Management, Water Management
Dryland with only 16 inches of annual rainfall means farming a lot of acres if you want to support a family and turn a profit in eastern Idaho. That also means farming a lot of hours — at least it did when we were farming conventionally.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Adding Cattle Yields Surprising No-Till Results

Once a no-tiller by necessity, John Stigge continues to push the limits of his Kansas farm by experimenting with cover-crop mixes and grazing cattle.
By John Stigge and Martha Mintz posted on May 14, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops
Desperation pushed us into no-till. It was the early 1980s and it wasn’t a great time to be a farmer. It also wasn’t a great time to need new equipment, which we did, unfortunately. We were out of money so instead of buying big new tractors and heavy new tillage implements, we made a few tweaks to our planter, took a deep breath and started no-tilling our crops.
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What I've Learned from No-Tilling

Cover Crops Take Root for Indiana No-Tiller

Jamie Scott became the go-to cover crop guy for an expanding group of neighboring farmers after success with the practice on his own farm.
By Jamie Scott and Martha Mintz posted on April 16, 2016 | Posted in Cover Crops, Soil Health
A little nudging from the former owners of some of our farms helped move us to 100% no-till in the early 1980s. A little more nudging and before you know it we were diversifying our farm — and a large percentage of our neighboring farms — with cover crops.
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