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Tom Martin estimated that he has saved 100,000 gal. of fuel and $200,000 over a quarter-century of growing corn.
Martin and three part-time helpers grow yellow corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa on 1,200 acres outside Mt. Pulaski, Ill., named in honor of the Polish Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski.
How did Martin save all that money? It's simple: He has been no-till farming since 1988 and also retiring highly erodible land.
"We have achieved a level of near-zero soil loss," said Martin, who has a degree in biological sciences.
He also spends half of what he used to on equipment, which means less spent for tires, oil, grease and everything else it takes to keep a farm running.
Martin is the sixth generation to live and work on his land since 1918. That means he tends to take a long view.
"I'm very positive," he said. "There are great opportunities, even though I think there is also, and will be, a great deal of volatility.
"The challenges in our business are quite different from just 10 years ago. They're not so much farming challenges as business challenges, such as financing, high input costs, competitive cash rents and the like," Martin noted.
"While the possibility of high returns on your investment will be possible, so will the possibility of great loss. Management of risk will be crucial in the years to come," he concluded.
Read more stories like Martin's at www.CornFarmersCoalition.org. | 
