The most-viewed content for 2023 on No-TillFarmer.com highlights industry and individual farmer news, presents no-till best practices and innovative solutions, and examines the future of the agriculture industry.

This year, No-Till Farmer readers celebrated record-breaking yields together, mourned the loss of No-Till Legend Dave Brandt, weathered drought conditions, analyzed fertilizer solutions and yield boosting techniques, and sought to improve their soil health. Here is a selection of the top content on the No-Till Farmer website in 2023.

Most Read Feature Articles:

• Aftermarket Closing Wheels Consistently Boost Bushels By: Dan Crummett

• Beck’s closing wheel study showed a quick ROI for using aftermarket closers, but one company analyst says closing wheels are the low-hanging fruit in improving planter performance.

• What Happened to the Legendary Allis-Chalmers No-Till Planter? By: Mike Lessiter

• Allis-Chalmers (A-C) is widely credited with designing, manufacturing and selling the first “commercially successful” no-till planters in 1966. A-C engineers borrowed from the ideas of Harry Young Jr. on his pioneering Kentucky farm to develop several unique coulter designs and planter frames that made broader no-till acceptance a reality.

• World’s Longest Continuing No-Till Plots at Ohio State Hit 60 Years By: Mike Lessiter

• Newly minted Michigan State University Ph.D. recipients Glover Triplett and the late Dave Van Doren arrived at Ohio State University in the late 1950s. Within a few short years, the pair began the world’s first no-till research project at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio, which continues today.

• Shorter Corn Offers More Yield Potential By: Dan Crummett

• Corn hybrid developers say short-stature corn offers wind-resistant standability plus yield-enhancing opportunities for growers to better manage for more ears per acre & more bushels in the bin.

• Your No-Till History: John Franz & the Glyphosate Discovery By: Mike Lessiter

• This installment of “Your No-Till History” expands upon a 1-page article that appeared in June 2022. Farmers on the 1974 and 1975 Hawaii trips run by No-Till Farmer saw the new herbicide in research plots. Approved to much anticipation in 1976, farmers suddenly had access to a product that promised to eradicate troublesome weeds — without the plow.

Most Read News Stories:

• No-Till Legend Dave Brandt Passes Away Unexpectedly By: Michaela Paukner

• Carroll, Ohio, No-Till Legend Dave Brandt died unexpectedly May 20 after a severe vehicle crash. Brandt is remembered for the enormous impact he had on the no-till, cover crop and regenerative farming community and beyond.

• Near-Fatal Accident on Ray McCormick's Farm, No-Till Legend in Recovery By: Mike Lessiter

• No-Till Farmer editors Mike Lessiter and Kim Schmidt made an impromptu stop in Vincennes, Ind., today. Ray McCormick, a No-Till Farmer Living Legend, is lucky to be alive following an accident with his trackhoe doing tornado cleanup on his Illinois farm.

• Strip-Tiller Sets New Soybean World Record with 206-Bushel Yield By: Noah Newman

• Strip-tiller Alex Harrell of Smithville, Ga., set a new world soybean yield record at 206.79 bushels per acre, topping mentor Randy Dowdy’s 2019 yield of 190.23 bushels per acre. 

• NRCS Making ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Investment in No-Till

• No-till farming and conservation agriculture will receive nearly $23 billion in additional U.S. government funding over the next 5 years, a “once-in-a-lifetime investment into conservation,” according to USDA’s National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) chief Terry Cosby.

• Kinze Launching 2 New Planter Models in 2024

• The two new 2024 Kinze planter models feature the 5000 series row unit, designed to enhance planting precision and reduce daily maintenance time. 

Most Read Blogs: 

• Is Moldboard Plowing No Longer Legit? By: Frank Lessiter

• Since its start in 1837, John Deere has been the major manufacturer of moldboard plows. But that came to a halt in February of 2023 as the company’s last plow, a 6-bottom unit with a price tag of $67,000, rolled off the Deere assembly line.

• Glyphosate Ban May Lead to a Two-Fold Increase in No-Till Expenses  By: Frank Lessiter

• Despite numerous studies indicating that glyphosate is safe, ongoing public debate still leads to questions concerning what the impact would be if this popular herbicide was no longer available to no-tillers. First marketed in 1974, the most widely used herbicide in the U.S. will soon have been used by no-tillers for 50 years.

• No-Till Farming’s Barrier-Breaker  By: Mike Lessiter

• No-Till Farmer's Mike Lessiter shares a story about Kentucky’s Harry M. Young Jr. and Shirley Phillips, and how their efforts saved a farm — and an entire ag economy. Lessiter asked Young's son, John Young, what might have happened had no-till's first commercial crop been in the hands of a less humble farmer.

• Drought Continues to Be 'Broken Record' in Oklahoma  By: Clay Pope

• Clay Pope feels like a broken record, skipping over and over and over again, on dry weather and drought. In the past, when I’ve written about extensive dry conditions in the region, we inevitably get rain. Not this time.

• What the 1988 Drought Taught Me about No-Till  By: Zackary Michael Jack

• Recently, as the USDA Drought Monitor showed Iowa and the rest of the Midwest slipping further into a deepening summer drought, Zachary Michael Jack struggled to stanch the wellspring of painful memories released as he recalled for a younger friend the dry years of the late 1980s.

Most Listened to No-Till Farmer Podcasts:

• Smashing Yield Records Using Regenerative Ag With Russell Hedrick

North Carolina no-tiller Russell Hedrick details the practices that propelled him to record-setting corn and soybean yields.

• Rebuilding No-Till Soil’s Microbiome With Compost Extract, Part 1

• Ryan Gibbs, an Iowa no-tiller, explains his method of making vermicompost extract, its benefits and how he applies the product at field scale.

• Marion Calmer Solves Your Combine’s Soybean Harvest Problems

• Gibbs discusses how he uses sap analysis and soil testing to make nutrient management decision.

• Rebuilding No-Till Soil’s Microbiome With Compost Extract, Part 2

• Illinois No-Till Legend Marion Calmer shares top tips for setting your combine for a stellar soybean harvest
  

• Top Profit-Building Soybean Ideas With 3 No-Till Innovators
• No-tillers Alan Berry, Ross Bishop and Stan Miller discussed soybean row spacing, planting green, cover crops and more to help farmers implement money-making changes to their soybean management.

Most Listened to No-Till Influencers & Innovators Podcasts:

• Changing Your Mindset & Harnessing the Power of Your Plants with Ray Archuleta

• No-Till Innovator Ray Archuleta gives a powerful talk that earned him a standing ovation from hundreds of no-tillers.

• Improving Your Soil With A Complete No-Till System

• No-Till Farmer's Frank Lessiter sits down with Penn State University soil scientist and agronomist Sjoerd Duiker to talk about what no-tillers should be doing to improve their cropping systems.

• If It’s Not Wacky Enough, It May Not Work: No-Till Innovations With Rick Clark

• Indiana organic no-tiller Rick Clark explains why sometimes it’s best to think outside of the box in the world of no-till.

• Defining Conservation Agriculture Systems With Don Reicosky

• Associate editor Mackane Vogel talks with Don Reicosky, retired USDA soil scientist, about what truly defines conservation agriculture systems and what key pillars are necessary to be able to accurately describe a farm as practicing conservation agriculture.

• All In On No-Till With Kentucky ‘Pioneers Of Planting Green’

• Joel Reddick, a young Kentucky no-tiller, talks about his family’s operation and how they’ve been successful with 100% no-till for 5+ years.

Most Viewed Videos:

• Making Compost Extract for Commercial Farming

• Ryan Gibbs, a Hopkinton, Iowa no-tiller and owner of Gibbsfield Ag, shows how he makes compost extract, applied as a liquid in furrow.

• Marion Calmer Outlines 3 Approaches for Placement of Phosphorus and Potassium

• No-Till Legend Marion Calmer revisits his 2022 study that examines how strip-till can minimize nutrient stratification while maximizing yield.

• How No-Till Corn Responds to Vermicompost Extract

• Ryan Gibbs conducted a trial to compare how his homemade vermicompost extract affects root development in no-till corn.

• First Look: Electric Cover Crop Seeder

• Associate editor Mackane Vogel talks with Andy Unverferth about a new cover crop seeder at the 2023 Farm Progress Show.

• Walkthrough: Highly Modified Case IH 1200 Pivot-Fold No-Till Planter

• James Hepp, a no-tiller from Rockwell City, Iowa, walks through the modifications he made on his 2006 Case IH 1200 pivot-fold planter.

Most Viewed Conservation Ag Updates:

• No-Till Legend Reacts to Illinois Dust Storm Crash

• Randall Reeder, No-Till Legend, shares his perspective on the dust storm crash in Illinois in May, caused by extreme winds blowing dirt from tilled fields.

• No-Till Community Reflects on Life & Legacy of Dave Brandt

• In this episode of Conservation Ag Update, we pay tribute to No-Till Legend Dave Brandt, who recently passed away from injuries sustained in a car crash. Fellow No-Till Legends who knew Dave best share their thoughts on the life and legacy of their friend.

• No-Till & Cover Crops Paying Off in Drought Conditions

• No-tillers Jim Stute and Ryan Gibbs says farmers are holding up in abnormally dry conditions throughout most of the U.S., thanks to conservation practices.

• Soybean Harvest Study: No-Till vs. Conventional Tillage

• Harvest results are analyzed from several studies in the Corn Belt, including no-till vs. conventional tillage soybeans in Indiana and a nutrient stratification study in Illinois.

• No-Tiller Showcases Innovative Nutrient Application Tool at Field Day

• No-tiller Tim Recker showcases his innovative approach to nitrogen application in Arlington, Iowa.

Highest Attended Webinars:

• Regenerative Tools for Your No-Till Toolbox — Bringing Life to Your Soil

• John Kempf, chief vision officer and founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, shares the benefits of biological inputs in no-till system management. 

• How to Reduce Your Fertilizer By Up To 70% While Increasing Yield

• Advancing Eco Agriculture's (AEA) director of education David Miller, explains how to improve soil biology by releasing the nutrients that are tied up in the soil mineral matrix and don’t show up on a conventional soil test.

• Reducing Fertilizer Costs Starts with Your Soil: Round Table Discussion

• Holganix president of agriculture Dave Stark sat down with regenerative ag consultants Nick Vos and John Weseman on how they have used microbes to improve fertilizer efficiency and yield.

• Setting a Foundation — Shaping the Soil for Robust Plant Health and Efficiency

• HELM technical agronomist Brock Waggoner and product development manager Tim Eyrich review spring 2023 strategies for success.

• Ask the Operator: The Cost of Soil Erosion

• 2023 Conservation Ag Operator Fellow Loran Steinlage of West Union, Iowa, discusses the cost of erosion and what the no-till community can do to educate others about conservation practices like no-till and cover crops.