Note: This is an excerpt from an interview with Palmyra, Mich. farmer Jake Isley.

Water conservation initially pushed our big tillage change. With most of our soils being sandy loam with a bed of gravel underneath, it’s not a question of if it’s going to turn dry, but when. At some point we’re almost guaranteed to go through a water-limiting event that will stress the plant. 

After seeing the impact of drought in 2012 and the lifeless condition of our soil after that, it was time to act. 

I was exposed to a variety of conservation strategies while earning my degree in crop and soil sciences at Michigan State Univ. I knew there were ways we could improve how we farm from a conservation standpoint, and how those methods could improve our water situation. A neighbor was also strip-tilling, so we had local proof of concept to observe for potential changes to our system.

The initial goal was to capture and retain more plant-available water. To do this we needed to increase soil structure to improve infiltration and build soil organic matter to hold water in the soil.

Reducing tillage not only would protect soil structure and allow it to continue to develop but leave more residue to protect the soil from rainfall events. We want raindrops to hit a leaf first before transitioning to the soil. Slowing the water down prevents it from breaking up surface soil structure and creating crusting that in turn reduces water infiltration.

Protecting the soil and capturing more water has become increasingly important as we’ve seen our weather patterns change in recent decades. Lately we’re just as likely to catch 2 inches of rain in 2 hours as we are to receive a half inch of rain, nice and slow over 24 hours. 

We’re getting roughly the same amount of rain, but it’s coming less frequently and in more intense rainfall events. If our soils aren’t ready to capture rain during those heavy storms, we’re going to be more vulnerable to experiencing water stress sooner.

To see the full interview with Isley and learn more about how strip-till helped his farming operation in several different ways, read Martha Mintz’s article “Solving a Farm Puzzle with Strip-Till, One Piece at a Time” featured in the Spring 2026 Issue of Strip-Till Farmer.