Eradicating Erosion  No-till and cover crops lead the way By
J.F. Pirro  Steve Groff began dabbling with no-till
experimentation 30 years ago, and then 15 to 20 years ago with
cover crops. In both cases he's been a pioneer. Some of his
fields haven't been touched by equipment in three decades.  Sunn
hemp, a prolific summer producer.  The explanation for his
initial exploration was quite simple: Almost all of his 215
acres in Holtwood, Pa., are at a 3 to 17 percent slope. He had
to do something to eradicate erosion through runoff, and at
those angles, the erosion was easier to observe.  "I didn't like
what I saw in my own fields," Groff says. "It would rain, and I
would have to close some fields, especially before harvest, and
that wasn't right."  Tillage Radish's root breaks up compacted
soil. In the process of saving his own Lancaster County
operation, Cedar Meadow Farm, he's partnered with businessman
David Weaver, of Robesonia, Pa., as co-owners of Tillage Radish,
a registered trademark of their company, G