SCMN06, I know how you feel.  Similar to seeing a nice Illinois farm turned into houses.  Farmer worked for years, maybe decades to care for and hopefully build up that soil.

First thing they do is scrape every bit of topsoil they can into a huge pile.  After houses are built the homeowner gets maybe 6" of that around the foundation and lawn.  The rest of the former farm's topsoil is sold by the yard.

I think the OP is expressing his feelings, not starting a tillage war.

One thing about current land prices and reason for ripping is that folks pay so much for the land or rent that they feel they can't take a chance on farming for "soil structure" just need to maximize short term cash flow to make the payments. Farming for soil health sometimes takes a longer range view.

I posted a few pictures a couple years ago from along I-90 near SCMN's part of MN clearly showing the difference in soil blown across the highway on snow from different tillage systems as I drove along. MN SNIRT I think was the title of the post but can't seem to find it in a search. This was after a particularly strong north/south windstorm in late January.  

In those S MN soils there is in fact a benefit to occasional deep ripping. I think the issue is it does not need to be done every year. Conventional wisdom in the area though is that you must moldboard plow bean stubble or you will "go broke".

I've heard young guys who dare to try something new get criticized from the coffee shops to churches. You get a feel for that in this thread.

There are ways to farm that maintain/build soil health and not "go broke". In that area especially though you need a very thick hide to stick with it.  Many younger heavily leveraged guys pretty soon figure life is easier just to do it like everyone else. Too risky with the neighbors and the bank to do anything else.

I appreciate SCMN06 has the guts to try different things in some potentially very productive but at the same time very difficult soil conditions. He raises some very good crops.

And many of these farms he is talking about are being sold because the owners are just getting older/retiring and as is happening in many places their farms are absorbed into larger operations where the often young operators  "know everything".

Jim at Dawn