No-till Farmer Podcast

For this No-Till Farmer podcast, we caught up with Hickory, North Carolina, no-tiller Russell Hedrick to hear about his latest venture, a mobile grain milling operation he launched alongside partners Liz Haney and Sarah Varble called Regen Mills. Join in to hear how the trio sees this as a way to return more profit to farmers, how this new approach to grain milling supports that goal, the requirements and expectations they have for farmers signing on to the program, likely financial returns a farmer could expect to see and more.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, Frank Lessiter talks with Dick Wittman, a no-tiller in Lapwai, Idaho, about his transition to no-till, his resource management mindset and how Wittman is positioning the next generation of farmers in his family for success.

For this No-Till Farmer podcast, we caught up with Paul Mikesell, founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics, a new company that is tackling weed control with a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and lasers. This past year, in 2021, the company released its first production units of a machine called the LaserWeeder, which has the potential to eliminate the need for herbicides or tillage for weed control. Join in to hear about how the LaserWeeder can distinguish between crops and weeds, how it effectively kills weeds without chemicals, why grasses are more challenging to eliminate than broadleaf weeds, when the technology might be rolled out to row crop farmers and more.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, we’re sitting in on a presentation by Ray Weil, Soil Scientist at the University of Maryland to discuss his research. He explains how cover crops influence nutrient profiles, optimal planting dates for cover crops and how well different kinds of cover crops can penetrate dense, compacted soils.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, Tim Brannon, former Allis-Chalmers territory manager and current president of B&G Equipment, Paris, Tenn., talks with Frank Lessiter about the early days of Allis-Chalmers and shares some memorable stories from the road as he introduced no-till planters to growers around the world.

For this No-Till Farmer podcast, we caught up with Anthony Bly, Soils Field Specialist with South Dakota State University Extension, who was a presenter at the event. In an interview with associate editor Sarah Hill, Anthony discusses the interconnected relationship between water and soil, how cover crops fit into profitable cropping systems, the importance of minimal soil disturbance and more.

Listen to no-tiller & philanthropist Howard G. Buffet's keynote presentation at the 2010 National No-Tillage Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. At the time of his presentation, Buffett (son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett) had been no-tilling since 1992 on 16,000 acres in Illinois and Nebraska as well as another 6,000-plus acres in South Africa.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Terrasym, Frank Lessiter gets into the weeds with Kelly VanBeek, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Migratory Bird Program to discuss which no-till fields provide the best habitats for songbirds, what cover crops are most hospitable to birds and finding a balance between productivity and conservation on farmland.

For this No-Till Farmer podcast, we caught up with Tom Cotter, a no-tiller and strip-tiller in Austin, Minnesota, right after a Minnesota Soil Health School session he hosted at his farm. He explains how he has skirted many of the problems facing hemp farmers by following the farm-to-table production model to grow the product for his own Superior Cannabis Company stores in Austin and Duluth.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, Frank Lessiter talks with Betsy Bower, an agronomist for Ceres Solutions in Lafayette, Ind., about the task force and some of the hottest areas in no-till farming – from carbon sequestration to biologicals and more.

Carbon market programs are a hot topic amongst farmers today, as they represent a potential new revenue stream for growers who implement conservation practices such as no-till, strip-till and cover crops. But every program is a little different in how they approach qualifying acres, establishing baseline measurements, practice verification, farmer compensation and more. For this No-Till Farmer podcast, we caught up with representatives from three companies who were talking with farmers about their carbon programs at the 2021 Farm Progress Show. We spoke with Ben Gordon, carbon and ecosystems global portfolio leader with Corteva; Lisa Streck, grower carbon lead with Bayer Carbon; and Cristian Barcan, sustainability officer with Rabo Carbon Bank. Listen in to hear about how these three companies are navigating the complexities of the carbon offsets market and bringing this new offering to U.S. farmers.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by The Andersons, we caught up with Lance Gunderson, president and co-owner of the recently launched Regen Ag Lab in Pleasanton, Nebraska to talk about some of the new soil tests, how they differ from conventional tests and why it matters.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, Frank Lessiter talks with Director of Agronomy at Fall Line Capital and no-tiller in Manitoba, Canada, Scott Day about no-tilling in the harsh climate of Canada’s prairies and how diverse crop choices have become a legacy of no-till on his farm.

Finding ways to improve farm profits without taking on more acres is one of Zack Smith’s goals. In fact, the Buffalo Center, Iowa, strip-tiller has a name for it – biohacks. With his mindset of finding natural, vegetative solutions for farm problems, he recently started developing a unique autonomous structure he calls the Stock Cropper that integrates strip-cropping with mobile grazing.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, Frank Lessiter talks with Amy Bartow about the NRCS’ recent initiatives to promote the establishment of pollinator plots and strips. Tune in as they discuss native vs. non-native pollinator mixes, the importance of diversity in the mix, the pollination value of cover crops, how no-tillers can make extra income with pollinator habitat, how weed management fits into the equation and much more.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by The Andersons, we chat with independent crop consultant Jeremiah Durbin about those physical, chemical and biological aspects of soil health and how he uses his mechanical background to help trouble-shoot issues in the field.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, Frank Lessiter talks with Jackson, Wisconsin, no-tiller Ross Bishop about how he got turned on to no-tilling back in the 1990s and how that impacts his operation today. Join us as they discuss using cover crops and planting green, no-tilling in 20-inch rows, why he’s experimenting with growing Kernza, the benefits of using sulfur and dry boron and much more.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, we chat with Ross Evelsizer of Iowa Resource Conservation and Development. As the director of the organization’s Multi-Cropping Iowa project, Evelsizer works with growers around the state to implement cropping systems that help achieve soil health goals while expanding market opportunities.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, Frank Lessiter talks with Vincennes, Ind., no-tiller Ray McCormick about his approaches to conservation and farming intersect. Join us as they discuss how he got the idea to seed covers with an air seeder attached to his combine header.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, Frank Lessiter continue his talk with Retired Michigan State Agronomist Jerry Grigar, about many of the lessons learned from decades of using no-till practices on Jerry’s 140-acre farm, where he no-tills black beans, soybeans, oats, wheat and hay.