I’ve been no-tilling 45 years. That’s also my age. No-till is all I’ve ever known as my dad and grandfather were early adopters of the practice. 

Harry Young — the original no-tiller — lived just an hour due northwest of our farm. Following his example, no-till double-crop soybeans were quickly adopted in our area with most using the original Allis Chalmers no-till planters. Dad and my grandfather were quick to adopt no-till soybeans, too, advancing to no-till corn soon after.

In the 1980s, the area extension and Miles Farm Supply started working on no-till wheat. They launched Opti-Crop consulting for intensive wheat management. We used that resource to get into no-till wheat, too. By the early 1990s, my predecessors had purchased a Great Plains no-till drill and had eliminated tillage from the operation apart from tobacco and watermelons.

We certainly took our lumps being early adopters of no-till. Things are much better today. Modern wheat is bred to better work in high residue no-till situations. Current varieties are less susceptible to disease, and there are more herbicide and fungicide options available. While it was a struggle early, today my no-till wheat will produce the same or better than wheat seeded into worked up ground. 

Brittany, Jack, Mac and Willis Jepson

Check The Specs...

NAME: Willis Jepson

LOCATION: Orlinda, Tenn.

ACRES: 7,000 acres (10,000 acres when counting double crop seeding)

YEARS NO-TILLING: 45

CROPS: corn, winter wheat, soybeans, dark tobacco, watermelons & pumpkins

PRIMARY SOIL TYPE: Pembroke

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION: 50 inches

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