Talk to 10 no-tillers and you’ll probably hear 10 slightly different viewpoints on why it pays to quit disturbing and start building the soil. At Sheridan Farms, we’ve got our list, too. We’ve been able to drop from five marketed crops to two or three without any loss in productivity or farm income.

Compaction can be a real killer. That’s why John and Alan Merchant of Cass City, Mich., are extremely sensitive to this critical no-till concern. Heavy equipment puts a pounding on poorly drained clay soils north of Detroit.