This five year no-till project is to introduce, develop and maintain a successful no-till farming program for James Ruchert. The farm is located on Kuhl Ridge in the center of the Pataha Watershed in a 14-16 inch rainfall area. The soil is a WwB (Walla Walla silt loam) on 0 to 7% slope. The field drains into the Pataha Creek about 6 miles below Pomeroy. The project will demonstrate that a long term no-till program is effective, efficient & economically feasible in reducing erosion. The project will consist of no-till seeding 200 acres of cropland. This project will cover a period of 5 years with the same fields being seeded using a no-till farming system. An annual payment of $29 per acre per year will be made to Mr. Ruchert to help offset the initial costs of implementing the program and reduce part of the financial risk that he will be taking. Numerous documents show that no-till is next to grass in reducing erosion. This practice can reduce erosion by 95% over intensive tillage systems currently being used by a majority of the farmers in Garfield County. A reduction in erosion from the cropland will lead to less sedimentation of the stream. An ongoing monitoring program will correlate this no-till program to sediment reduction. Crop rotations, input costs, & yields will be monitored by Mr. Ruchert & the district. This project will be used as a tool to show others that a no-till program can economically be adopted by farmers.