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Ploughing and tilling on hilly slopes is causing farm soils to thin and threatens future crop yields, a new study published in Nature Food finds.

Scientists behind the study, from Lancaster (UK) and Augsburg (Germany) Universities, argue that unless farmers stop tilling hill slopes, over the long-term the soils on hillsides could thin to the point where growth of food crops is severely threatened. For centuries, farmers have tilled the soil in their fields to provide seed beds in order to produce crops. Once undertaken using traditional animal-drawn ploughs, as farming has mechanised within the last century the tilling process has shifted to heavier and faster tractors.