tilled

About 20% of the rain on conventionally tilled fields was lost in surface runoff, compared with only 12% from the strip-tilled fields.

He added that for typical Midwest springs, tilled crop rows would be warmer and a bit dryer earlier so farmers can get in and plant.

"On conventionally tilled fields, snow just blows off ridge tops.

"Of those, we saw that 13 events generated erosion from conventionally tilled fields, but only 3 events resulted in erosion from no-till fields.

When mature, the hedges captured about 90 percent of eroded sediment from ultra-narrow-row conventionally tilled fields and only about 50 percent of sediment from no-till fields.

To see whether there's a difference between soil compaction on tilled and no-till soils, researchers attached sensors to tractor tire tread and compared the effects of tire pressure (that is, the pressure or force exerted on the field by the tire) on both types of fields.

(If no-till percentages remain unchanged from year to year, it is possible to have rotational tillage occurring but not detect it since cropland acreage can be no-tilled for the first time or brought back to no-till to offset that which is being tilled.)