No-Till Farmer Podcast

In the part two of this series of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Bio-till Cover Crops, we continue the No-Till Ted Talk with Iowa no-tiller James Hepp and Modern Ag Alliance Executive Director Elizabeth Burns-Thompson to share their thoughts on where agriculture is headed.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Titan International, a big piece of equipment is unveiled at the Kinze Product Innovation Day in Williamsburg, Iowa. Plus, we pay another visit to Robert Boyle’s farm in Coolidge, Ariz., for a look at a unique rotation that includes a 5-way cover crop mix.

In this No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Bio-Till Cover Crops, we share the first of this two part series of the No-Till Farmer podcast, we welcome Field to Market President Carrie Vollmer-Sanders and regenerative ag tech advisor Monte Bottens to share their thoughts on where agriculture is headed.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Titan International, we catch up with young Kentucky no-tiller Quint Pottinger to see how he autonomously planted his entire crop in 2026. Senior editor John Dobberstein checks in from the CTIC Conservation in Action Tour in Scotland Neck, N.C., where no-tiller Zeb Winslow III talks about his multi-species cover crop program.

Since the 1980s, Ray McCormick has seen that the major benefits of no-till include saving fuel, curbing erosion, building soil organic matter, boosting wildlife numbers and protecting the environment for future generations.

Well it finally happened! One of our 50 states has decided to ban the herbicide that got no-till started in the early years before glyphosate came along. It happened in Vermont, a state with an extremely low acceptance of no-till that has decided to ban the use of paraquat amid growing concerns about links between paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s disease.

If you are a white male farmer who has been received EQUIP funds from the JU.S. Department of Agriculture, the feds may have been costing you dollars. A recent piece from the Wall Street Journal editorial board states women and minority farmers have been getting a better deal than most white male farmers.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Titan International, we pay a visit to Strip-Till Innovator Robert Boyle’s farm in Coolidge, Ariz., for an up-close look at how he’s transforming his soils with cover crops and diverse rotations. Plus, we poll no-tillers from around the U.S. to see how they’re using different methods and equipment to seed cover crops.

The same highly sophisticated seismic tools and methods used to measure the severity of earthquakes show promise in determining the impact tillage has on soil moisture and water retention. University of Washington scientists say these research results indicate tillage and compaction disrupt the intricate capillary networks within the soil in ways that affect how it soaks up water.

Mike Lessiter, president and CEO of Lessiter Media, sat down with Pivot Bio CEO Chris Abbott to talk about the company’s approach to researching and manufacturing biological nitrogen products, and Pivot Bio’s commitment to creating products that help no-tillers and strip-tillers maximize their ROI with crop nutrition.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Titan International, Latimer, Iowa no-tillers Landon and Anne Plagge describe the soil health practices that propelled them to the 2025 Leopold Conservation Award, including a unique cover crop grazing system.

In the Spring issue of our No-Till Farmer Conservation Tillage Guide, I wrote my “Frankly Speaking” column about Jon Lundgren and his tour of duty as a USDA scientist. The founder of Blue Dasher Farms and the Ecdysis Foundation at Esteline, S. Dak. Lundgren gave up a career path at a USDA scientist due to political pressure. Now free of government and congressional interference, he and his team do...

Tom Cotter has embarked on a long journey adopting no-till on his farm and then evolving it to both organic and regenerative principles side by side. The Austin, Minn., no-tiller runs 14 cash crops in rotation with cover crops and grazing on every acre.

At this year’s 34th National No-Tillage Conference in St. Louis, I heard the real story behind a federal controversy I’ve wondered about for 10 years. This revelation came during a classroom session presented by Jonathan Lundgren. Now the operator of Blue Dasher Farms in Estelline, S.D., Lundgren gave up a career path as a USDA scientist due to unfortunate political manipulation by folks in Washin...

A half-dozen years before I concentrated my ag journalism career on no-till, I edited Massey-Ferguson’s 6-times-a-year Farm Profit magazine that circulated to 400,000 U.S. growers. This memory came up with the recent news that a western Canadia startup company (Ursa Ag) is building tractors with very little technology — selling them for half the price of today’s more advanced tractors.

In recent years, our No-Till Farmer editors have shared numerous conversations with no-tillers interested in finding new ways to expand farm income past traditional cash crop, milk and meat production. While we’ve seen many opportunities for developing a direct-to-consumer business, many growers maintain it seems like too much work.

If you’re no-tilling and seeding cover crops, you’re in a much better position to deal with higher nitrogen (N) prices than many other growers. That’s because cover crops can provide up to 100 pounds per acre of N you don’t have to buy.

No-Till Farmer Editor Frank Lessiter returned to the National No-Tillage Conference in January to moderate a thought-provoking discussion with No-Till Innovators Jim Moseley, Rodney Rulon and Lisa Holscher about the critical role farmer-to-farmer mentorship plays in the advancement of no-till, cover crops and other conservation practices.

If you ever had the chance to meet Dick Foell, you quickly realized his excitement for no-till knew no bounds. Unfortunately, Dick passed away at the age of 90 on March 1 at his home in central California. Through his journey he touched many lives with his wisdom, humor and an unwavering spirit of perseverance. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Laraine ‘Chic’ Foell, two daughters, two sons,...

Relay Cropping, New No-Till Drill Among Early #Plant26 Highlights by No-Till Farmer

In this No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Bio-Till Cover Crops, we’re sharing the conversations we had this week with Quality Drills and Alaska Agro about the logistics of this long haul, the no-till retrofit project, and hear more about the no-till field coming up at the farm.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Titan International, we share a key takeaway from the USDA Prospective Plantings report, and catch up with Wisconsin no-tiller Kevin Klahn to discuss his state record-breaking soybean yield.

In this No-Till Farmer podcast brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, Senior Editor John Dobberstein shares highlights from his interviews with several exhibitors at the Commodity Classic show in San Antonio as they discussed products, innovations and management strategies that you’ll find of interest for this coming season.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, Lake City, Iowa no-tiller/strip-tiller Mark Schleisman shares how cover crops helped his family sweep the NCGA corn yield contest in Iowa last year. Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award recipient Michael E. Berg shines light on his family’s conservation practices near the flood-prone Pecatonica River.

At Commodity Classic 2026 in San Antonio, U.S. Secretary Brooke Rollins, NRCS Secretary Aubrey Bettencourt and USDA Undersecretary Richard Fordyce answered many questions from the farm media about the state of U.S. trade, the fighting to eliminate the new world screw worm, input costs, E-15, the USDA’s relocation to hub offices in the heartland, farm succession and more.