As I was getting through a recent issue of the Dakota Farmer magazine, I noted that your cover led in to two feature stories on cover cropping, and there was an editorial about the reduction of tillage over the years, and three more one-page articles about cover crop/soil health/no-till issues. I would say this magazine has a fairly clear preference for reporting on these topics as the up-and-coming way of farming in the present and future.

However, on the opposite page from an article about a longtime no-tiller is a full-color ad showing full-width tillage and black, powdery fields all the way to the horizon of the photo. How ironic when so much space is given to teaching about soil health and conservation that advertising is still pushing the non-benefits of tillage.

I'm sure the company sponsoring the ad has plenty of photos of their equipment operating no-till. Perhaps the Dakota Farmer should demand advertising that collaborates with its focus. After all, it seems no matter what color they drive, many farmers’ favorite color is still black.

Joel Foster,
Brookings, S.D.