Martha Mintz

Since 2011, Martha has authored the highly popular “What I’ve Learned About No-Till” series that has appeared in every issue of No-Till Farmer since August of 2002.

Growing up on a cattle ranch in southeastern Montana, Martha is a talented ag writer and photographer who lives with her family in Billings, Montana.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: No-Till, Cover Crops and Wheat Pull Farm Out of a Yield Rut

Yields had stalled for Dick and Chris Nissen until no-till, tiling, cover crops and wheat helped them manage water issues and improve their soils.

By Chris Nissen and Martha Mintz posted on November 19, 2016 | Posted in Seeding Practices

Our farm hit a plateau in the 1990s. Yields were flat and we just weren’t making the gains we thought we should be. It’s not that we sought out no-till as the magic solution; we just knew we had to try something different, as conventional tillage wasn’t cutting it.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Rejuvenating Acres and Ramping Up Soil Productivity

No-till is just one component of the system Dan DeSutter is using to break up compaction, store water, increase organic matter and improve yields.

By Dan DeSutter and Martha Mintz posted on July 30, 2016 | Posted in Seeding Practices

My dad gets the credit for taking the initial steps of reducing tillage on our farm, but I can probably take some credit for pushing us into a full no-till system. And I do mean system, because no-till is just the tiny tip of the very large iceberg that is our farm management strategy today.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Cover Crops Take Root for Indiana No-Tiller

Jamie Scott became the go-to cover crop guy for an expanding group of neighboring farmers after success with the practice on his own farm.

By Jamie Scott and Martha Mintz posted on April 16, 2016 | Posted in Soil Health

A little nudging from the former owners of some of our farms helped move us to 100% no-till in the early 1980s. A little more nudging and before you know it we were diversifying our farm — and a large percentage of our neighboring farms — with cover crops.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Covers, Continuous Cropping Advance No-Till Game

Dan Buerkle finds benefits of a continuous cropping system have ramped up soil health and made weed control more economical and effective.

By Dan Buerkle and Martha Mintz posted on May 18, 2015 | Posted in Seeding Practices, Soil Health

Leaving fields in fallow, and heavily tilling to keep them that way, is a deeply ingrained tradition in the often-parched southeastern corner of Montana, where I farm with my wife of 41 years, Lana.

Keep Covers in Your Rotation Without Breaking the Bank

No-tillers can reduce the cost of their cover-crop program and still keep most of the benefits by closely examining their seeding rates and methods and potentially trimming back mixes.

By Martha Mintz posted on April 17, 2015 | Posted in Economics

With corn prices looking a little more bear than bull these days, many no-tillers may be looking for places to trim their input costs. Fair or unfair, the newest management darling of no-tillers — cover crops — may find themselves in the crosshairs.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Breaking Through the No-Till Barrier with Cover Crops

Adding winter wheat, livestock and cover crops helped Paul Ackley overcome his no-till plateau, simplify his planter and build more productive soils.

By Martha Mintz posted on December 8, 2014

I never was one to like tillage. It just didn't make sense. You would go through and make a perfect seedbed to plant into and then, without fail, you couldn't get back in the field with the planter before it would rain. Then you would have to start all over again.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Donning No-Till Armor To Save Soils

Lucas Criswell is pushing his 30-year no-till system another step higher by seeding row crops into taller cover crops and using precision technology to safeguard nutrients and the environment.

By Martha Mintz posted on November 1, 2014 | Posted in Soil Health

I wish I could rewind and start over no-tilling with what I know now. The longer we no-till, the more we learn about what was really happening in our fields as we made the transition, and what we could have done then to take our soils farther, faster.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Bucking The Tillage Trend In An Alpine Desert

No-till practices are saving Colorado grower Billy Burns’ soils, and even helping his fields recover from a tragic herbicide mistake.

By Billy Burns and Martha Mintz posted on September 1, 2014 | Posted in Soil Health

As no-tillers we are definitely an oddity here in the highly productive San Luis Valley of Colorado. While we strive to keep our acres covered and undisturbed, the farmers surrounding us move masses of earth with every crop.

What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Breaking Through the Plow Pan, Taking No-Till to New Heights

Ralph Upton Jr. didn’t know how his early gamble on no-till and cover crops would pay off, but he’s reaping the rewards for his sustainable investment.

By Ralph Upton and Martha Mintz posted on June 1, 2014 | Posted in Soil Health

If we’re talking cover crops, I could keep a person up all night. Cover crops are truly amazing in what they can accomplish, and the number of different hats they can wear on the farm.

What I've Learned From No-Tilling

Breaking Through The Plow Pan, Taking No-Till To New Heights

Ralph Upton Jr. didn’t know how his early gamble on no-till and cover crops would pay off, but he’s reaping the rewards for his sustainable investment.

By Martha Mintz and Ralph Upton posted on June 1, 2014 | Posted in Economics

If we're talking cover crops, I could keep a person up all night. Cover crops are truly amazing in what they can accomplish, and the number of different hats they can wear on the farm.

Martha Mintz

ARTICLES

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: No-Till, Cover Crops and Wheat Pull Farm Out of a Yield Rut

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Rejuvenating Acres and Ramping Up Soil Productivity

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Cover Crops Take Root for Indiana No-Tiller

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Covers, Continuous Cropping Advance No-Till Game

Keep Covers in Your Rotation Without Breaking the Bank

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Breaking Through the No-Till Barrier with Cover Crops

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Donning No-Till Armor To Save Soils

What I've Learned From No-Tilling: Bucking The Tillage Trend In An Alpine Desert

What I've Learned from No-Tilling: Breaking Through the Plow Pan, Taking No-Till to New Heights

Breaking Through The Plow Pan, Taking No-Till To New Heights

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