Like many no-tillers in North America, Australian no-tillers are concerned with the impact of changing climate and drought conditions. However, no-till and several other innovative ideas have helped the country’s wheat growers deal with reduced water supplies while boosting yields over the past 3 decades.

Data from a recent cover-crop survey offers solid evidence that no-tillers are ahead of many other farmers when it comes to recognizing the value of keeping their ground covered throughout the year.

Forty years ago this month, I made my first visit to USDA’s North Appalachian Experimental Watershed in Coshocton, Ohio. Established in 1935, this 1,047-acre facility had been built with depression-era labor from several government assistance programs.

For a number of years, there’s been a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico that is caused by nitrogen runoff flowing from farms down the Mississippi River into the Gulf.