Even after more than a quarter-century of no-tilling, Koepke Farms continues to fine-tune its practices to keep soil in place, make the most of manure and fertilizer applications and consistently reach 200-bushel corn yields without irrigation.

Yield data collected from field trials shows the value oilseed radishes hold as a late-season cover crop after winter wheat or following corn-silage harvest.

Jim Koepke would be the first to tell you that he doesn’t consider himself a no-tiller. “There’s plenty of tillage activity going on in our soils, it’s just that the tillage is being done by earthworms instead of iron,” he says. “And those earthworms do a tremendous job.”