Farmers who make soil health a priority are more likely to adopt soil conservation practices, according to a survey by South Dakota State University. While research is important for showing the benefits of using soil-improving management strategies, government incentive programs can provide short-term compensation until producers begin to collect long-term rewards.

Progressive no-tiller Russell Hedrick to share how he uses precision technology and a multi-faceted, diverse approach to farm operations at the 2018 National No-Tillage Conference.

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.