No-Till Farmer Podcast

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Pivot Bio, we caught up with soil scientist Rattan Lal and talked about how he came to focus on carbon instead of synthetic inputs, the connection between the health of the soil and human vitality, how carbon affects the soil’s ability to hold onto nutrients and water, the 5 components of conservation agriculture, optimizing production instead of maximizing production and much more!

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Ag engineer Paul Jasa with the University of Nebraska about his many years studying no-till.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by FR8STAR, we met up with Gary Zimmer, also known as the “father” of biological farming, on the Taliesin grounds where he talked about his system of biological farming.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Dr. Erin Silva, associate professor specializing in organic and sustainable cropping systems at the University of Wisconsin.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by FR8STAR, we’ll hear excerpts from our conversation with Wolford, North Dakota no-tiller Paul Overby and General Mills’ Senior Principal Scientist Research Agronomist Tom Rabaey in which they talk about the General Mills Regenerative Agriculture pilot program.

In this No-Till Farmer “Innovator and Influencer” podcast, we look back at a reduced tillage practice that was developed even before the no-till movement got started. In this episode, No-Till Farmer Editor Frank Lessiter talks with “Bud” Fleischer of Columbus, Nebraska.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by FR8STAR, West Union, Iowa no-tiller Loran Steinlage is joined by Dale Richardson, who no-tills about 500 acres of corn, soybeans and cover crops just outside of Springfield, Missouri.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer “Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with independent ag consultant Joe Nester.

In this podcast, we hear from veteran no-tiller Mark Chapman, who systematically refines his operation with efficiency as one of his main drivers. Andrew Reuschel, who was a speaker at the 2020 conference, says his system is guided by his profitable use of soil-building cover crops. My third guest was Alan Smock, who runs a demonstration farm on a university campus and is always looking for ways to prevent further erosion and nutrient loss on the rolling ground.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer “Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with retired USDA soil scientist Don Reicosky.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by FR8STAR, we’ll hear from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who outlines the CFAP relief package and then takes questions from the press.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, No-Till Farmer editor catches up with two experienced farmers — David Hula and Darin Stolte — from the floor at this year’s Commodity Classic Show in San Antonio for insights into record-breaking corn yields and targeted nutrient management.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Auction Time, we'll share a discussion between Ralph Upton Jr. of Springerton, Illinois and ag researcher John Pike. We’ll cover their exchange which delves into research Upton had done on his farm after a 1983 drought revealed that he had a plow pan layer about 6 inches deep in his soil profile that was preventing his crops from getting needed moisture.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Rogers, Neb., farmer Ed Neesen, who, after a series of dry springs combined with a problem with potential carryover of a soybean herbicide, was inspired to make some tillage equipment changes in the 1980s.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, and for occasional future episodes, we’ve paired West Union, Iowa, no-tiller Loran Steinlage up with a no-tiller he’s never met before and asked him to record their conversation. In this installment., brought to you by Yetter Mfg., Loran met with Angela Knuth who’s been no-tilling and strip-tilling in Mead with her family since 2005.

In this episode of the "No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Jeff Mitchell, a Cropping Systems Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California, Davis, who has been active in leading the evolution of reduced-disturbance and cover crop systems in the Golden State.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we’re joined by Russell Hedrick who talks about how his experience as a young first-generation farmer faced with soil erosion led him on the path to using no-till, cover crops, incorporating livestock, and more.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Jake Kaderly, an agronomist with 38 years of experience and a 2018 winner of No-Till Farmer’s Responsible Nutrient Management Practitioners program who also no-tills 300 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and cover crops in south-central Wisconsin.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we’re going to talk tires, and specifically, we’ll hear about central tire inflation systems (CTIS), which are becoming increasingly prevalent on today’s tractors and other heavy ag equipment.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Frank Martin who has been no-tilling for nearly 20 years and continually updates and modifies his practices.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we caught up with Gaston, Indiana, no-tiller Jason Mauck by phone and he shared some details about how his ever-evolving system works and some of the experiments he’s been implementing to utilize the abundant manure generated by the 12,000 hogs in his operation.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Ross Morgan of H&R Agri-Power, who had a front-row seat during the growth and development of the no-till movement.

In this episode of the <em>No-Till Farmer</em> podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we caught up with Mike Bredeson, a research scientist with the Ecdysis Foundation who'll share some of his findings about how neonicotinoids are metabolized as well as background info on the Ecdysis Foundation.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Garth Mulkey of GS3 Quality Seed, who grows about 15 different crops outside of Monmouth, Ore, mostly for the seed industry. “No-till has been a great time saver. It’s been great for our soils. We’ve implemented cover crops the last 5-7 years on the ground where it fits. I’m very happy being a no-till farmer, and we’ve had some influence, my peer group and myself, on our neighbors. There’s not a big revolution in no-till in our area, but it’s certainly a tool that people are open to using these days.…” — Garth Mulkey Listen in as Garth talks about no-till transplanting, developing the daikon radish seed known as NitroRadish, how no-till cut his planting window by about 70%, how he keeps slugs in check, the business challenges he faced when commodity prices dropped in 2012, and much more!

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we’re joined by long-time no-tiller Steve Groff from Holtwood, Pa., who talks about how to cope when cover cropping goes awry, shares stories from his own cover crop failures, and answers questions about cover cropping challenges.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with retired no-tiller Bob Featheringill of Attica, Ohio, who began no-tilling more than 40 years ago on highly erosive clay soils 25 miles from Lake Erie. He also did a lot of work calibrating and improving seed meters to optimize seed placement.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we’re sharing a recent talk that soil microbiologist Dr. Kris Nichols gave at the Clemson Soil Health Conference, where she delved into the biology of soil and how producers can maximize their soil biological systems.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, founder of Blue Dasher Farm and the Ecdysis Foundation.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we're joined by Doug Newton and Loran Steinlage, who talk no-till, compare notes about their experiences, the soil health and other benefits they’ve seen from the practice.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Mike Starkey, who no-tills 2,500 acres of wheat, corn, soybeans and hay in Brownsburg, Ind..

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we're joined by veteran no-tiller Dave Brandt of Carroll, Ohio, who shares some of his many experiences with cover crops.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with soil scientist Ray Ward, who founded Ward Laboratories after identifying the need for a new approach to making soil fertility recommendations.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we're joined by Douglas Jones, an entomologist for Bayer Crop Science working in Nebraska where he does field research and trials on 60 acres of cropland.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Randall Reeder, who has done years of research on ridge-till, strip-till no-till and conventional tillage through his work at the Hoytville Research Station in northwest Ohio.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., ag engineer at the University of Nebraska, Paul Jasa, spoke at the 2019 National No-Tillage Conference, explaining the benefits of a 100% continuous no-till system, including improved soil structure, proper nutrient cycling, better water infiltration, soil temperature management, higher crop yields, and more!

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Dan Towery, who has worked to advance conservation ag practices for the past four decades as both an independent consultant and in various roles at the USDA and other conservation organizations.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Ray Rawson about zone tillage, the Zone Builder, his ever-changing planter setups and some of the inventions Ray developed over the years.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Mfg., we catch up with Ray Ward of Ward Laboratories, at the 2019 National No-Tillage Conference where he gets into the nitty-gritty on nutrients that are removed from a field during harvest or foraging.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we're joined by Jamie Patton, a senior outreach specialist for the nutrient and pest management program for the University of Wisconsin who shares her insights on sequestering carbon in the soil and the impact microbes, fungi, and organic matter have on the soil biome.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks Guy Swanson, who, along with his father, Mort, developed the Yielder drill, nicknamed “Old Yeller” which helped producers in the Palouse area no-till crops on steep slopes.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we're joined by NRCS soil health specialist Jim Hoorman who explains how improving soil structure with no-till and cover crops can help alleviate compaction problems.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with no-till legend John Tye, who was instrumental in creating the Tye grain drill that supported narrow-row soybean seeding.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we we hear listen in as Rick Clark explains how for the past few years he’s avoided applying pesticides, fungicides, insecticides and even starter fertilizer.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with no-till legend John Bradley about his experiences directing the annual mid-summer Milan No-Till Field Day and how no-till has revolutionized agriculture.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we hear from long-time no-tiller Steve Groff , who explains everything from hemp basics to best methods for weed control, general fertility tips, and what can go wrong with your hemp crop.

This episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, No-till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with longtime no-tiller and county extension agent Jim Leverich on the role he played in advancing no-till in the area around his Sparta, Wis., home.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we listen in on a Conklin conference call, with host Dan Willgohs and special guest Kip Cullers as they discuss Kip’s tips for using these products, especially in the cool and incredibly wet conditions that were so widespread this spring and are still plaguing isolated areas across the country.

This episode of the “No-till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, features one of the most successful value-added projects ever started by no-tillers. After mastering no-tilling in the dry areas on eastern Washington, guest Karl Kupers joined forces with Fred Fleming to form Shepherd’s Grain, a unique organization aimed at promoting and utilizing the benefits of no-till while also creating a new marketplace that offered premium prices on their products.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we'll hear from Robby Bevis of Lonoke, Arkansas; Mike Brocksmith of Vincennes, Indiana; and Jerry Peery of Clinton, Kentucky; each of whom will share five nutrient management practices they’ve implemented on their own farms.

In this episode of the “No-till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, conservation consultant Hans Kok joins Frank Lessiter for an exploratory conversation about what it takes to farm slopes vs. flat ground, making money while using cover crops, why no-till hasn’t been adopted widely in certain areas, how no-tillers could get by without glyphosate, and much more.