Tilling the soil is not always bad for the climate and reduces the need for pesticides

Our findings show that tillage can provide essential services in reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides, particularly in controlling weeds, certain pests and crop diseases. Numerous international studies have thus demonstrated the benefits of occasional tillage for weed control.
 

Furthermore, the climate benefits attributed to no-till farming are often less clear-cut than is commonly thought. Whilst no-till plots generally contain more organic carbon in the top few centimetres of soil, several international meta-analyses show that the carbon storage gains associated with no-till farming do sometimes exist, but are generally modest, or even non-existent, when the entire soil profile is considered and measurements are carried out using appropriate quantification methods. Increasing the amounts of carbon added to the soil, particularly through the regular use of cover crops, appears to be a key factor in promoting carbon storage in soils. Furthermore, depending on the context, no-till farming may reduce, leave unchanged, or increase emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas. In some cases, this increase may offset the benefits associated with carbon sequestration.