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David Brandt brings a soil sample out of his corn field during a portrait session on his farm in central Ohio. The Brandt family raises corn, soy, wheat and hay on their 1,200-acre farm in Carroll, Ohio. David Brandt 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.