Pam Knox, UGA and CAES Agricultural Climatologist, referenced an article in the New York Times in her Blog Post on January 31, 2017.  As I write this I am getting ready to resume a two-day conference focused on Conservation Production Systems.  The article in the New York Times discusses no-till farming as a way farmers are working to mimic nature to help protect soil and water resources.  The article is focused on farmers in Kansas, but farmers across the US and world are using the practice of conservation tillage to reduce erosion thereby protecting water resources, increasing infiltration thereby providing a way to store water for plants to use when the soil becomes drier, increases soil organic matter which makes the soil act like a sponge to hold more water and many many other benefits.  Conservation practices used on the farm does not only protect the farmer, but the activities of reducing runoff, increasing infiltration and other benefits helps the community at large.