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Tom Barcellos, owner of T-Bar Dairy and Barcellos Farms in Tipton, Calif. Surrounded by mountains, the area's climate, unique geography and rapidly increasing population contribute to the area's pollution problems. Farmers in California face unique challenges and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. "Water and land conservation is important in farming and dairying because number one, they're not making any more land, and number two, our water source is limited," Barcellos said. In the early 1990s, he was one of the first farmers in the area to begin no-till and strip-till seeding -- processes that aim to lessen soil disturbance between crops. Then in 2001, in the middle of double-cropping, one of his tractors broke down. "All of the tractors in the area were in use," recalled Barcellos. "I had heard of this no-till planter in the area and decided to try it out. We were going to do 80 acres and ended up doing almost 400 that year." He hasn't looked back since. Today, 20,000 acres within the San Joaquin Valley have been converted from conventional to conservation tillage. "In conservation tillage, we use minimum till or no till, so we're making fewer passes in the field," Barcellos said. "We have less dust and less exhaust. We're not burning as much fuel. Overall, we save money, and it's better for the environment."