An organisation founded on preserving soil through minimum cultivation is actively promoting tillage practices, including a 'back to the future' one-way plough.

But as former WA No Till Farmers Association (WANTFA) president Wes Baker explained at last week's WANTFA Soil Amelioration Day, it reflects the evolution of agriculture.

"And it certainly doesn't mean we stop no-till," Mr Baker said.

The event struck a chord with farmers with a crowd of more than 400 (one head count went as high as 430) gathering at Bolgart farmer Trevor Syme's property to assess 19 machines involved in soil amelioration.

It's a subject that has been gathering steam for the past 10 years as farmers have witnessed a plateau in crop yields with the resultant push to find out what can be achieved to 'push the envelope'.

According to Mr Baker, "we have reached the limits of crop production gains just using no-till".

"It is obvious these soil amelioration techniques assist in many ways to build healthier soils by removing soil constraints so roots can get down to access moisture and more nutrients," Mr Baker said.

"As an association we can't ignore any techniques that can assist in producing high crop yields for farmers.

"But no-till is still the way to sow crops."

WANTFA executive officer David Minkey also echoed Mr Baker's comments, citing improved plant genetics and overcoming soil constraints as ingredients to enhance crop establishment and yield.

"What we saw during the day certainly is showing farmers there are more tools in the toolbox but the caution is to evaluate what machine or machines work best in particular soil types," Mr Minkey said.

Part of the program also included observational evaluation of several trial sites set up by Mr Syme.

There was a clay trial to assess its benefits to overcome non-wetting, a residual ripping trial to establish how long it takes before re-ripping paddocks and SACOA's SE14 banded surfactant which is gaining in popularity for use when dry sowing and for use on non-wetting soils.

The format of the day generally worked well with Mr Minkey admitting initial planning had only allowed for 11 machinery demonstrations mixed with a two hour bus tour of trial sites on Mr Syme's farm.

"In the end we got swamped with machinery dealers and company representatives wanting to be part of the day so the number of machines swelled to 19 and put us on the back foot a bit.

"But I was very happy with the day and we got a lot of positive feedback."