No-Till History Articles & News The No-Till History digital archive to commemorate no-till’s historic year in 2024 is made possible by Calmer.


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In 1975, after borrowing $500 from the bank and $500 from his grandma, Marion started his farming operation of 80 acres of corn and 10 gilts. He would go on to build the world’s first 15-inch corn head in 1994, the world’s first 12-inch corn head in 2013 and the world’s largest corn head (at the time) that same year. Most recently, Marion invented the BT Chopper® Upgrade Kit system to enable factory corn heads to manage cornstalk residue more efficiently than ever, saving farmers time and money. On top of that Calmer Corn Heads build custom corn heads that will fit most combines. Visit them at calmercornheads.com.


Enjoy a stunning and unique collection of no-till stories, photographs, facts, and figures chronicling the history of no-till farming from the early years through today. This extraordinary hardbound book is over 400 pages and takes a decade-by-decade look at the world of no-till as seen through the eyes of those who observed the many changes in no-till since the first commercial U.S. plot in 1962. Learn more about "From Maverick to Mainstream: A History of No-Till Farming" and information to order here.



Read articles and news items below, or view the full no-till historical archive.

]]> https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/rss en-us How History Is Shaping the Future of No-Till Farming mlessiter@lessitermedia.com Mike Lessiter speaks on the key elements of no-till history and why it’s a blueprint for future change, examines critical success factors needed to sustain and grow the practices, and addresses the key role of conservation districts in making successful transitions and adoption a reality.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/14511 Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/14511-how-history-is-shaping-the-future-of-no-till-farming Mike Lessiter 2025 NACD 6.jpg Who Were the 'No-Till Neighbors?' In the late 1980s and early 1990s, chemical company DuPont (now Corteva) launched what would become a groundbreaking program named No-Till Neighbors. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13540 Tue, 06 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13540-who-were-the-no-till-neighbors No-Till-Neighbors.jpg NEW NEIGHBORS. These archive photos from a DuPont No-Till Neighbor Field Day demonstrate the hands-on, farmer-to-farmer learning that helped farmers find success with no-till in its earliest days. Marion Calmer Decades of Research Data Illustrate No-Till Soil Health Advantages mpaukner@lessitermedia.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13501 Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13501-decades-of-research-data-illustrate-no-till-soil-health-advantages _No-Till-History-2013-2018-Yield-Data.jpg Unsolved Mystery: Who Was the National No-Tillage Conference Spy? mlessiter@lessitermedia.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13365 Tue, 28 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13365-unsolved-mystery-who-was-the-national-no-tillage-conference-spy NTF-History_July_2024-Art.jpg Stripper-Header Revolutionized No-Till Wheat mlessiter@lessitermedia.com The originator of the stripper-header was Shelbourne-Reynolds (S-R), based in Suffolk, England. The grain stripper was borne from the picking head on the manufacturer’s self-propelled green-pea harvester.  The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13274 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13274-stripper-header-revolutionized-no-till-wheat No-Till-History-Billy-Joe-Miles-Farm.jpg ON MILES'S FARM. A Shelbourne-Reynolds stripper-header is shown on Billy Joe Miles’s Case 8120 combine. Image: Phil Needham Remembering Howard Dean Martin (1944-2024) & the No-Till Row Cleaner No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13187 Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/13187-remembering-howard-dean-martin-1944-2024-and-the-no-till-row-cleaner Martin-No-Till-History-Feature.jpg Howard Dean Martin with his first spiked closing wheel for no-till planters in 1994. A Strip-Till Origin Story nnewman@lessitermedia.com Mike Petersen has “forgotten more about strip-till than most will ever know,” one of his longtime co-workers said recently. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12863 Tue, 31 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12863-a-strip-till-origin-story No-Till-History-Grandfather-of-Strip-Till.jpg FIRST CLASS. Jim Kinsella, Rich Follmer and Tony Vyn (L-R) receive plaques during the inaugural Strip-Till Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the 2023 National Strip-Tillage Conference. Image: Jeff Lazewski No-Till’s Value Seen During Oil Crisis — in South America, That Is… mlessiter@lessitermedia.com Throughout the region of Brazil’s Northern Paraná area, slowly some farmers showed at least some curiosity about how no-till worked. The researchers were also curious.The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12806 Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12806-no-tills-value-seen-during-oil-crisis-in-south-america-that-is NT-History_Oil-Crisis.jpg John Franz & the Glyphosate Discovery mlessiter@lessitermedia.com This installment of “Your No-Till History” expands upon a 1-page article that appeared in June 2022. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12626 Tue, 18 Jul 2023 13:41:07 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12626-john-franz-and-the-glyphosate-discovery Roundup-NTHistory.jpg Image From Maverick to Mainstream: A History of No-Till Farming 1970s No-Till Cartoons Poke Fun at Conventional Farmers lessitef@lesspub.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12501 Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12501-plowboy-pete-vs-no-till-ned Ployboy-Pete-&-No-Till-Ned-Feature.jpg No-Till Is the Best Chance We Have to Feed the Next Generations No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12383 Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12383-no-till-is-the-best-chance-we-have-to-feed-the-next-generations NT-History-header-NO-PLOW-CORN.jpg NO PLOW CORN. Kentucky Farmer magazine featured Harry Young Jr.’s no-till innovations in an article from the 1960s. The author considered the “no plow corn” experimental and noted how the mulch held in ground moisture. Courtesy John Young Conservation Ag’s Scientific Production 1990-2021 Sustainability, How Did Research on Conservation Agriculture Evolve over the Years? A Bibliometric Analysis. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12295 Mon, 06 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12295-conservation-ags-scientific-production-1990-2021 Annual-Scentific-Production-of-Literature-on-Conservation-Ag.jpg Annual scientific production of literature on conservation agriculture from 1990 to 2021. SOURCE: “How Did Research on Conservation Agriculture Evolve over the Years? A Bibliometric Analysis.” Sustainability, 15, 2040 (2023). Citation: Bhattacharjee, S.; Panja, A.; Panda, M.; Dutta, S.; Dutta, S.; Kumar, R.; Kumar, D.; Yadav, M.R.; Minkina, T.; Kalinitchenko, V.P.; et al. “How Did Research on Conservation Agriculture Evolve over the Years? A Bibliometric Analysis,” Sustainability 2023   https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2040 Latin America Becomes Global Power via No-Till The Legacy of Herbert Bartz: the No-Tillage Pioneer, by Wilhan Santin, with contributions from Rafael Silvaro, Marie Luise Carolina Bartz, Johann Bartz, Donald Reicosky, Dirceu Gassen, Jônadan Ma and Heidrun Kronenberg. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12267 Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12267-latin-america-becomes-global-power-via-no-till Herbert-Bartz-history-art.jpg ALWAYS TEACHING. Herbert Bartz opened his farm gate to all and gave countless presentations. No group was too small to talk no-till, whether it was farmers, politicians or students, and he launched and led several conservation organizations. A critic once drew this response: “I know how to solve the problem of soil compaction, but I don’t know how to solve compaction of the brain.” Photo: The Legacy of Herbert Bartz: the No-Tillage Pioneer Restoring One of the World’s First Commercial No-Till Planters No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12264 Thu, 23 Feb 2023 06:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12264-restoring-one-of-the-worlds-first-commercial-no-till-planters Brewers Restored No Till Planter.JPG Photo: Jim Brewers Brazil Quickly Embraced No-Till & Become a World Ag Power “Brazil feeds around 1.2 billion people on the planet,” writes Luiz Carlos Bergamaschi, President of ABAPA, “but little is known about how this was possible, and there are those who have no idea about our strategic role for the future of humanity. It was not the work of chance.” The No-Till Passport series is brought to you by Martin Industries.

]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12240 Thu, 16 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12240-brazil-quickly-embraced-no-till-led-to-become-a-world-ag-power No-Till-Around-the-World-history-art-700.jpg Source: A. Kassam, T. Friedrich and R. Derpsch, 2021 Click to enlarge No-Till Farming’s Barrier-Breaker mlessiter@lessitermedia.com No-Till Farmer installment in the YOUR NO-TILL HISTORY series, I came across yet another very personal story about Kentucky’s Harry M. Young Jr. and Shirley Phillips, and how their efforts saved a farm — and an entire ag economy The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/blogs/1/post/12237 Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/blogs/1-covering-no-till/post/12237-no-till-farmings-barrier-breaker Harry-Young-history.jpg 1993: National No-Tillage Conference Debuts lessitef@lesspub.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12092 Fri, 02 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12092-1993-national-no-tillage-conference-debuts NNTC-History-Banner.jpg 40-Year-Old Conservation Tillage Information Center Gave Unified Voice for No-Till mlessiter@lessitermedia.com No-Till Farmer (50) and National No-Tillage Conference (30). We’ll add a fourth jewel to the “no-till crown” with the 40th anniversary of a public-private partnership, the Conservation Tillage Information Center (CTIC). The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12016 Sun, 06 Nov 2022 01:00:00 -0500 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/12016-40-year-old-conservation-tillage-information-center-gave-unified-voice-for-no-till Dick-Foell-No-Till-History.jpg “The interest in conservation tillage is outpacing the delivery system of information and expertise,” said Chevron Product manager Dick Foell in a January 1982 news release. “The interest is there, the technical information is there, but there is no unified voice of the conservation tillage movement … We see the need for a central source of conservation tillage information, a focal point for the movement.” Personal Memories of No-Till’s First Field (1962) No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11694 Thu, 15 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11694-personal-memories-of-no-tills-first-field-1962 Harry-Young.jpg WORTH THE RISK. After no-tilling corn in 1962, Harry Young worked with Univ. of Kentucky agronomist Shirley Phillips to perfect his no-till system. Young didn’t anticipate how no-till would grow. “His training as an ag economist, though, told him it would save labor, fuel, machinery and soil, and it was well worth trying,” says his son, John Young. Timeline of No-Till Citations in Published Literature No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11866 Mon, 12 Sep 2022 08:46:21 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11866-timeline-of-no-till-citations-in-published-literature Timeline-of-No-Till-Citations_700.jpg No-Till’s Pioneering ‘Dynamic Duo’ No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11693 Tue, 30 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11693-no-tills-pioneering-dynamic-duo Shirley-H-Phillips-left_Harry-Young-Jr-right.jpg Shirley H. Phillips (left) and Harry Young Jr. (right) Grassroots Promotions of No-Till Practice lessitef@lesspub.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11692 Mon, 15 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11692-grassroots-promotions-of-no-till-practice No-Till-in-Any-Language.jpg Congress Hears About No-Till in First Testimony lessitef@lesspub.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11776 Thu, 11 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11776-congress-hears-about-no-till-in-first-testimony Robert-Poage-with-Frank-Lessiter.jpg NO-TILL TESTIMONY. Texas Rep. Robert Poage, chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, speaks with Frank Lessiter, age 34, following his 10-minute testimony in 1973 on the impact no-till could have on the future of American farming. ‘OK, Maybe That Guy Wasn’t So Crazy ...’ lessitef@lesspub.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11691 Sat, 30 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11691-ok-maybe-that-guy-wasnt-so-crazy OK-Maybe-That-Guy-Wasnt-So-Crazy.jpg Dick Foell: Nothing Too Crazy to Promote No-Till mlessiter@lessitermedia.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11740 Thu, 28 Jul 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11740-dick-foell-nothing-too-crazy-to-promote-no-till Foell Collection No-Till History.png Milan No-Till Field Day Showed Real-World Results mlessiter@lessitermedia.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11663 Wed, 29 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11663-milan-field-day-showed-real-world-results Tom-McCutcheon-John-Bradley.jpg Dr. Tom McCutchen (l) served as the first superintendent at UT AgResearch Center at Milan, Tenn., from 1963-1983, followed by his friend Dr. John Bradley (r) from 1984-1997.  Memories of Milan No-Till Field Day No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11659 Tue, 28 Jun 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11659-memories-of-milan-no-till-field-day Milan-Opening-Art.jpg First Planter Design from No-Till’s ‘Garden of Eden’ No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11588 Sun, 29 May 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11588-first-planter-design-from-no-tills-garden-of-eden NT-History-Donnie-Morris.jpg RUBE GOLDBERG’S GOT NOTHING ON DONNIE MORRIS. At a 2019 field day at Ewing Field, Ill., Donnie Morris displayed the experimental no-till planter he designed and built in 1966 for no-till researcher George McKibben at the University of Illinois. John E. Franz & the Glyphosate Discovery mlessiter@lessitermedia.com No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11484 Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11484-john-e-franz-and-the-glyphosate-discovery John E. Franz of Monsanto Herbicide History, Part II: No-Till Rallies on Roundup mlessiter@lessitermedia.com Dr. Stephen Powles and a “once in 100-years breakthrough.” The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.]]> http://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11465 Tue, 26 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/11465-herbicide-history-part-ii-no-till-rallies-on-roundup Roundup-Ad-history-Header.jpg