When three Ohio State University educators spoke about soil properties and structure at last winter’s National No-Tillage Conference, they asked attendees to help them take a closer look at the many changes occurring with less tillage.

Most U.S no-tillers miss out on the full benefits of no-tilling because they incorrectly believe they must occasionally till for a variety of reasons, says Rolph Derpsch, an internationally respected no-till researcher and advocate from Paraguay.

A few weeks ago, I spent several days in Denver, Colo., sharing ideas with agricultural leaders about the importance of agricultural research. This was at a meeting where attendees advised the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) on assessing soil resource research programs and planning future research needs.