David Brandt emerges from his corn field with a soil sample on his 1,200-acre farm in central Ohio. Brandt grows corn, soy, wheat and hay on his farm that he runs with his wife, Kendra, in Carroll, Ohio. He has been practicing no-till farming since 1971, and has planted cover crops, such as winter peas, cabbage, clover and millet, which return nutrients to the soil, since 1978. His return to these traditional farming practices have allowed Brandt to drastically reduce his usage of fertilizers and pesticides, has increased the soil fertility and strengthened the land's tolerance to drought and excessive rain.
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