Good stewardship is not about minimizing disturbances, but about optimizing disturbances to produce the best ecosystem and productivity outcomes.

The U.S. leads the world in no-tilled acres, while two nations with the highest populations, India and China, don’t even make the Top 5 list. India has the second most arable land in the world and China comes in fifth.

With field conditions favorable for a stable harvest schedule, and planning for crop year 2025 underway, the next 8 weeks provide a golden opportunity to evaluate how your fields held up, says University of Wisconsin Extension.

Geologist says the effects of tillage should be incorporated into the USDA’s erosion estimates, so the agency's numbers might better align with the 57.6 billion metrictons of soil that the researchers estimate has been lost across the Midwest in the last 160 years.

Marion Calmer goes through his 40-year journey of replicated studies on nitrogen rates, row spacings, populations, tillage vs. no-till vs strip-till, residue management and most recently the long-term effects of surface-applied phosphorus and potassium.

Drought conditions, paired with high winds, are causing an increased fire threat. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the High Plains are in some level of drought. At the same time, corn harvest is ongoing and there’s always a risk of an equipment-related fire could start.

Experts from Missouri and Iowa academic institutions weigh in on the benefits of no-till in this piece from Missouri Farmer Today. While almost all praise (and use) no-tillage systems, they admit the positive benefits (soil absorption, for one) are hard to quantify monetarily.