In a recent meeting of San Joaquin Valley NRCS and Resource Conservation Districts leaders held at the Wool Growers’ Restaurant in Los Banos, Calif., the 2017 Conservation Agriculture Farmer Innovator Award was presented to Chowchilla, Calif. farmer, Michael McRee.

In this episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by NovAtel, we sat down with Minnesota farmer Tom Muller and discuss his early equipment innovations, primary paybacks with his strip-till system and the value of letting worms do the work to improve soil health.

The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the benefits of no-till systems and the favorable environment created for earthworms.

University College Dublin reports that conventional tillage is severely damaging earthworm populations around the world, and the deeper the soil is disturbed, the more harmful it is to earthworms.

Here are some tips from Penn State University about earthworms and the different types you may find in your no-tilled fields.

Kansas State University Extension explains how earthworms benefit soil fertility, organic matter and physical properties, and what to do to increase their population.

This time of year, I look forward visiting a few farms to get a recap of harvest and also catch a glimpse of some fresh fall strips. Although there were still plenty of combines harvesting corn ahead of an expected early mid-November cold snap in western Wisconsin and central Minnesota, I had a chance to traverse the newly strip-tilled fields of Tom Muller.