Thesis (Educat.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1986. American farmland has long been considered an inexhaustible resource. To protect this resource, "society", primarily through legislative pressure and educational efforts, has demanded "Agriculture" change from the traditional moldboard plow based farming technology to reduced tillage systems, the ultimate of which is the no-till system--placing the seeds in very narrow slots without disturbing last year's crop residue. This paper, part of a larger no-till study, compares no-till innovators to the general farm population; compares no-till innovators in two parts of Illinois; investigates characteristics of farmer-innovators who tried and continued no-till, and those who discontinued no-till; and compares the effect of experience on no-till use and perceptions. Development of improved herbicides, no-till planters, and "societal encouragement" have expanded the no-till practice, despite possible yield decreases. An examination of 203 no-till innovators determined they were younger, had greater gross farm income and larger farms than the base population. Group differences showed higher farm income, and, initially fewer no-till acres in the north, where no-till was considered an "environmental innovation." Southern innovators reported more off-farm employment and income, used no-till for more years, and considered no-till both an "income enhancement" device and an "environmental innovation." "Agencies," important sources of no-till information, showed regional differences. Discontinuers had less peer contact than Continuers, perhaps a function of their greater off-farm work, and less farm income. Earlier innovators were more environmentally concerned than the later innovators, who had more gross farm income, more off-farm income, and smaller farms with less no-till than "Early Innovators." This research suggests more individual contact (one-on-one) teaching is needed both to individualize the no-till practice for each farm situation, and to provide the personal support (strokes) needed for continuance of the practice. U of I Only Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs