Sustained no-till use on individual farms in the US Midwest: Insights from three consecutive years of farmer surveys

Sustained no-till farming on expanding acreage plays a crucial role in achieving the environmental and economic benefits of conservation practices. Farmers’ adoption behaviors reflect a combination of field, farm, and farmer characteristics, encompassing biophysical, operational, and psychological factors. Here, we use longitudinal survey data covering four upper Midwest states to examine how consistent year-over-year no-till is explained by different combinations of factors. Using three consecutive years of farming practices data from 314 fields collected by the Michigan State University Panel Farmer Survey, we examined the temporal pattern of no-till use in individual fields. We found that 17% of fields used continuous no-till over three years, compared to 24% that used continuous conventional tillage and 59% that rotated between no-till and other tillage practices. Valuing tillage for conservation outcomes, such as erosion prevention, soil organic matter, and soil moisture management, and having highly erodible fields increased the probability of continuous no-till at the field level by 15% and 16%, respectively, while valuing tillage for soil workability and planting one more year of corn (Zea mays L.) in a five-year rotation decreased the probability by 7% and 7%. Our findings demonstrate the value of tracking year-to-year tillage choices for individual fields when evaluating continuous no-till. We highlight the importance of studying conservation practices as systems embedded in varying biological, operational, and psychological contexts at farm and field levels and of emphasizing sustained use in informing policy development.