Mission and Purpose

No-till on the Plains, Inc. is a partnership of farmers, agribusinesses, associations, and state and federal agencies that are committed to increasing the adoption of cropping systems that will enhance soil and water quality, economic potential and the quality of life. The organization is devoted to educating farmers about how to develop economically, agronomically, and environmentally sound crop production systems through the application of No-till farming techniques.  Each year, No-till on the Plains organizes and plans educational bus tours that allow farmers to get practical and relevant No-till information from other farmers and No-till experts.  Currently, there are several local No-till alliances organized around the state and the number is growing yearly.

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Where We Started

Excessive tillage led to bare, uncovered soil which resulted in ideal conditions for soil erosion.  In addition to soil loss, massive amounts of water which could have been used in growing a crop were lost as well.  This loss of soil and water led to lower crop yields which resulted in unprofitable farms.  

There is still a lot of heavy tillage occurring, but as more and more farmers move to a No-till crop production system, soil erosion is going down and production levels are going up.

    Where We Are Going

No-till On The Plains is dedicated to educating farmers about how to develop economically, agronomically, and environmentally sound crop production systems through the application of No-till farming techniques.   Better water infiltration, less evaporation, better root exploration, and healthier crops are some No-till Farming benefits that farmers can take advantage of to produce more bushels and make more profit.

History of No-till On The Plains
(from Volume 1 Issue 1 of the Leading Edge magazine)

Just what is No-till On The Plains, and where did it come from?  We understand there may have been some confusion in the past, what with all the personnel changes, moved offices, varying phone numbers, and (now) even a name change. No, we’re not schizophrenic—just a very young organization struggling to serve our agricultural origins, to provide a conduit for information and ideas, and sometimes struggling just to survive. But one thing has kept us focused: as always, we are “by farmers, for farmers.”

A bit of our history might clarify things. In the late 1980s, Bill Richards, then Chief of USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS) conceived the idea for a coalition to provide education on the methods and benefits of reduced tillage, especially for curbing wind and water erosion and for helping producers comply with the conservation provisions of the ‘85 U.S. Farm Bill. Within the framework of Richards’ ‘National Crop Residue Management Alliance’ were to be state organizations to further those educational goals. In exploring the possibility of such an entity by Kansas’ NRCS leadership, Tim Christian with NRCS and Pat Murphy with K-State Ag Engineering were tapped to organize the first meetings in 1990 in Salina, at which about forty separate interests were represented, including federal and state agencies, conservation districts, agribusinesses, and individual farmers. The fruition of those meetings was the ‘Kansas Crop Residue Management Alliance’ (KCRMA).

From the outset, the leaders recognized that the organization was to fulfill a need not being accomplished by NRCS or K-State Extension. During the formative process, Bud Davis (NRCS) was the strongest proponent of creating the organization outside of NRCS,  which has perhaps granted it the freedom it needed to be truly effective. Another source of strength since the beginning was the Alliance’s being very project oriented, rather than being overly concerned with its public image. The early structuring, combined with immense selfless volunteer work by dozens of people, has allowed it to develop and flourish.

Paralleling the evolution of KCRMA, smaller local alliances started forming in the early ‘90s to target educational efforts for an area. In early 1991, Christian and Davis met with NRCS county staff and producers in a few locations in Kansas where farmers and agency people had shown an interest in forming groups to get information into the hands of producers. The first alliance to result from those meetings was the Golden Belt Alliance, formally organized in the summer of 1991 for Barton County. Other groups organized over the next few years.

At the state level, KCRMA’s loose organizational effort was producing a few educational tools, and in 1992 the group organized more formally by appointing a steering body, developing a plan of action, and setting up teams to address specific educational efforts. The Alliance was also in need of a person to head-up the expanded activities. After discussion on potential partnering efforts with the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers (KAWG), NRCS provided underwriting to KAWG to hire a half-time Coordinator to manage Alliance activities; Mike Doane served in this role from 1994 until 1996. During this time, the Alliance’s goals were also furthered greatly by the efforts of Hans Kok, K-State Research and Extension, who toured the state with a rainfall simulator to vividly demonstrate the effects of crop residues on improving water infiltration.

As KCRMA evolved, the group began focusing more on the profitability of reduced tillage systems, particularly No-till. Davis had early on recognized that No-till far surpassed other conservation systems in efficiency, and helped nudge the organization in this direction. In the summer of 1995, Davis, Matt Hagny, and Mike Doane put together KCRMA’s very first bus trip, dubbed the ‘South Dakota No-till Tour,’ with the idea that producers seeing ‘real’ No-till first-hand would be far more useful than endless descriptions of it. The tour focused on what Dwayne Beck was doing with crop rotations and No-till at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, SD, as well as long-term No-till producers who were implementing some of Beck’s ideas. The trip became an annual event, and has been quite popular with a number of Kansas and Oklahoma producers. After that time, KCRMA further shifted its efforts toward providing information primarily on No-till systems and more sophisticated cropping rotations.

It soon became apparent that farmers really were in need of a regional conference to exchange ideas and experiences, again with Davis first recognizing the potential. In 1997, the ‘No-till on the Plains’ Conference was born, managed by Eric Lund. Dwayne Beck was the featured speaker and the format was designed to promote farmers sharing information with other farmers. This format, combined with a large No-till trade show, proved to be a shockingly successful mix, with the attendance the first year topping 600. Since then, the conference has been held each January in Salina with attendance of 1,000 to 1,300 ever since.

The Alliance was invigorated by the enthusiasm and ideas of Dave Berck, who became the full-time Coordinator in 1997. With the arrival of Berck, many of the Alliance activities were conducted from his home near Wichita, although the Alliance continued to rent office space from KAWG in Manhattan. One of Berck’s many projects for KCRMA included a tour across Kansas in ‘97 with South American No-till pioneer Carlos Crovetto, stopping at a half-dozen No-till operations in various parts of the state. Berck put together other educational trips including traveling to the No-till Field Day at Milan, TN, and another to Crovetto’s farm near Concepción, Chile.  Berck’s departure in the spring of ‘99 left the group in a bit of a lurch, and duties had to be divvied up among Board members and advisors in an attempt to carry on. Charles Atkinson, NRCS, served as interim Coordinator for part of a year. Tom Blackburn, with BASF, was serving as President during this time, and Tim Christian was hired to manage the conference in 2000, and again ‘01. Upon completion of his term of office Blackburn resigned from the Board in 1999 due to business obligations, and Doug Palen has succeeded him as President.

In 2002, Christian was hired as Coordinator, and was assisted by Drue Durst from their office in McPherson. Tim and Doug served until 2003 when other business obligations were pressing them so hard that they no longer had the time to serve as coordinators.   Brian and Jana Lindley were hired to fill this position and are currently serving as the No-till On The Plains Coordinators.

 The group continues to expand its activities, recently with the addition of the highly successful ‘Whirlwind No-till Tours’ to complement the South Dakota Tour. And, to ease your addled tongues, in 2002 we (finally) discarded the stodgy mouthful of KCRMA in favor of our established brand name, making us the almost frolicky ‘No-till on the Plains, Inc.’

A new name, and a new publication, but rest assured we’re  still dead serious about providing the very best information and ideas to improve profits and sustain resources of agri-producers everywhere. We are witnessing the dawning of a new era in agriculture, and we’re excited to be a part of it!

  Note: In addition to all the players mentioned above, the Board and its Advisors would like to extend their thanks to the many others who helped KCRMA/No-till on the Plains, Inc. get on its feet, including Hank Ernst, Alan States, John Tibbits, Clyde Mermis, John Hickman…. As our collective memories fade over the years, we may very well have omitted a name or two—we sincerely regret the oversight and ask that you fill in your name here: _____________________.