ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. -- If you or someone you know is looking into farming methods that conserve dirt, there's a conference Tuesday that features no-till processes.

The Virginia No-Till Alliance Conference will be held at the Rockingham county fair grounds.

The conference starts at 9 a.m. and lasts until 3:30 p.m. It will feature speakers including a conservationist as well as a trade show with no-till equipment.

Extension Agent Bobby Clark said farmers make less passes over their field with the equipment. They thensave fuel and also conserve the soil.

No-till means that farmers simply plant the crops without plowing and disking. Instead, they go in and just kill the weeds.

Clark said there are some farmers in the area who haven't plowed in 10 or 20 years with no till. But, the amount of farmers that follow this practice full time is less than 25 percent.

"No-till farming is better for the environment compared to conventional farming because when you no-till farm there's less run off, less soil erosion. And we do build soil organic matter which is essentially sequestering carbon in the air," Clark, an extension agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension, said.

The conference also features ways to cut down on challenges from not tilling. One of those includes dealing with slugs and weeds.

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