University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension engineer Paul Jasa was recently honored with the Shirley H. Phillips No-Till Award by the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 

This annual award is given by the UK Department of Plant and Soil Sciences to individuals whose career has been devoted to promoting no-till practices—commemorating Shirley H. Phillips’ legacy work as a UK extension specialist who helped develop no-till agriculture over 60 years ago in Kentucky. 

“Thank you to the University of Kentucky and it’s an honor to receive this award from a group of some of the original researchers on no-till,” Jasa said. “I see this work as more long-term and helping producers be profitable, building soil health and reducing risk to the environment. Farming is a business, and we must treat it that way.” 

No-till is a technique for growing crops and plants without disturbing the soil through tillage, often improving soil structure and increasing the amount of water available to plants. Widely adopted in the United States and abroad, no-till is significant in countering climate change. 

“Paul has worked for more than 40 years on planting equipment and crop rotations in no-tillage systems,” said Chad Lee, Grain and Forage Center of Excellence director and extension professor at Martin-Gatton CAFE. “In Kentucky, the primary goal of no-till is to reduce soil erosion. In Nebraska, the primary goal is to conserve and preserve water. Paul has worked with, and learned from, numerous producers on converting to no-till. Nebraska now has more acres of no-till corn than any other state in the U.S.” 

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Jasa develops and conducts educational programs related to crop production that improve profitability, build soil health and reduce risks to the environment. With his experiences gained from research and extension activities, Jasa is considered an expert in the Midwest on no-till planting equipment and system management to protect and build the soil.   

Biography 

Receiving both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of Nebraska, Jasa has been conducting research and working with planting equipment and tillage system evaluations at the University since 1978, full-time since 1981. 

Jasa has worked with soil and water conservation, residue management, erosion reduction, water management, crop rotations and, more recently, cover crops and soil health.  His presentations stress the systems approach to crop production and the long-term benefits of continuous no-till. 

In 1983, Jasa began his extension career working with a five-year project to expand the use of conservation tillage to conserve soil, water, and energy in three targeted areas in eastern Nebraska with soil erosion problems. He worked with approximately 30 to 50 producers each year, helping them adopt no-till, or another conservation tillage system, comparing it to their previous tillage system. A large, rotating boom rainfall simulator was built to support the project and used to show the effectiveness of crop residue and other conservation practices reducing erosion and runoff in real-field situations. 

Jasa has traveled internationally extensively to share his no-till knowledge and experiences. He has hosted visitors and bus tours from many U.S. states and several foreign countries at the University of Nebraska Rogers Memorial Farm. His long-term history with the farm, with continuous no-till production since 1981, with seeding equipment and cover crops, showcases Jasa’s field work and research for over 40 years.  

Jasa received the 1998 No-Till Innovator Award for Research and Education, which honors farmers, researchers, organizations and others who have identified ways to no-till more effectively, more economically, and with better impact on the environment.   

In 2011, No-Till Farmer named Jasa as one of the 40 No-Till Legends who have made tremendous contributions to the growth and popularity of no-till. In 2017, No-Till Farmer recognized Jasa as one of the 25 No-Till Legends. 

Jasa was inducted to The Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement in 2015 and received the Honor Award in 2013 from the Nebraska Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society for his outstanding leadership in the facilitation, information and education of no-till and cover cropping systems, no-till equipment and tillage systems evaluations. Jasa also received the national Harold and Kay Scholl Excellence in Conservation Award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society in 2018, recognizing his efforts providing direct and personal delivery for conservation planning and technical assistance. 

Jasa was named Engineer of the Year in 2012 by the Nebraska Section of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for his continued no-till research and extension activities.  In 2010 Paul received the Water Guardian Award from the Nebraska Agri-Business Association for his educational activities to protect and conserve Nebraska’s water resources. 

For no-till going forward, Jasa offers some words of wisdom. 

“There is no recipe for no-till farming. Today, it’s really all about soil health and no-till is a tool,” Jasa said. “The benefits come in the long-term, not in the short-term, and it’s only a failure if you don’t learn from your mistakes along the way.” 

Learn more about the UK Department of Plant and Soil Science’s awards at https://pss.ca.uky.edu/awards.

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