ABSTRACT
Conservation tillage continues to gain the attention of landowners as a cost-effective way to reduce wind and water erosion. Increases were due to promotional efforts by the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts, local soil conservation districts, technical and educational work by the Soil Conservation Service and Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service. There were 157 entrants from 33 counties that participated in the 1984 Ortho No-Till Corn Yield Contest in Michigan. Nearly half of the state's cropland needs conservation treatment to reduce soil erosion to tolerable levels and maintain the soil resource base. Much of the state's cropland is farmed more intensively than a decade or two ago. Corn and soybean production has increased significantly in the last ten years, and over half of the state's cropland is now used to grow these and other row crops. No-till and other forms of conservation tillage are making gains in the state.
