Rethinking No-Till: Why Rotations, Residue, and Diversity Matter More Than We Thought

Guest: Natalie Sturm
Hosts: Dr. Buz Kloot and Dr. Gabe Kenne
Running time: 62 mins

“We could take a shovel, and shovel up some soil in one field, and then just go across the dirt road, and the soils would look completely different... it kind of blew my mind that the only difference between those two fields was the crop rotation they had been under for the past 20 to 30 years.”
—Natalie Sturm

Episode Summary:
Natalie Sturm is a rising voice in cropping systems and soil health. She joins us to reframe the tillage conversation—not as a binary between conventional and no-till, but as part of a broader system that includes crop rotation, residue management, livestock integration, and long-term soil function. Drawing on her M.S. research at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm, Natalie shares insights about why no-till alone isn’t enough and how thoughtful rotation design can drive both soil quality and profitability.

We talk about:

• Why two side-by-side no-till fields can look dramatically different
• How biomass, not just crop diversity, builds better soils
• The drought resilience of long rotations
• How longer rotations can reduce herbicide and pesticide use
• The economics of dryland vs. irrigated systems
• Practical tips for transitioning into more resilient systems, one step at a time
• Natalie's journey from suburban Chicago to the helm of Dakota Lakes

Featured Guest Bio:
Natalie Sturm didn’t grow up in agriculture—she’s originally from suburban Chicago. Her passion for climate, biodiversity, and human health led her to Montana State University, where she earned a B.S. in Agroecology. She then completed her M.S. at South Dakota State University studying long-term no-till crop rotations at Dakota Lakes Research Farm. Natalie is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Washington State University on the effects of cropping systems on soil compaction in the Palouse region. In 2026, she will return to Dakota Lakes as its new research farm manager.

📌 Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• 📄 Natalie’s full M.S. thesis: “It’s Not Just No-Till: Crop Rotations Are Key to Improving Soil Quality and Grain Yields at Dakota Lakes Research Farm”
  👉Read or download here
• 🎥 Natalie’s video on crop rotations
  👉Watch here on Dakota Lakes site
• 🎥 Dakota Lakes 2020 Virtual Field Day Playlist (20 videos)
  👉 View full playlist here
• 📝 Related Blog Post:
  Beyond No-Till: Why Crop Rotations Matter More Than You Think
  👉Read the blog post

Additional Resources:

✨ BONUS ARTICLE: What Are We Really Arguing About When We Talk About Tillage: growingresiliencesd.com/post/what-we-re-really-arguing-about-when-we-talk-about-tillage