In this “tongue-in-cheek” look at tillage practices, it seemed like Plowboy Pete was always in trouble while No-Till Ned never seemed to do any wrong.
When we produced a magazine in 1972, 1973 and 1974 (before switching to a newsletter format due to limited no-till advertising support), these two characters appeared in most issues as a fun means of educating farmers — in a neighborly way — on the upstart no-till practice.
Readers who wrote the winning captions were treated to a free dinner for four at the restaurant of their choice with No-Till Farmer picking up the tab. Our cost for most of the free dinners in the early ’70s ranged from $28-$60. However, we always felt one winner took advantage of the free dining experience when his bill topped $325 mark — more than $2,000 in today’s dollars.
![Berlin-Wall-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Berlin-Wall-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, with all the weeds growing in your fence row, it looks like you’ve created your own version of the Berlin Wall.”
![no-till-fertilizer-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/no-till-fertilizer-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, I certainly hope your soil that’s washing over into my no-till field has a lot of fertilizer in it.”
![Horsepower-Tractor-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Horsepower-Tractor-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, you need a 150-horsepower tractor to pull both your 8-bottom plow and combine.”
![Rain-Shower-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Rain-Shower-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, we could sure use a nice rain shower, right?”
![Corn-is-rooting-for-No-Till-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Corn-is-rooting-for-No-Till-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, even your corn is rooting for no-till.”
![No-Till-Meeting-in-Hawaii-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/No-Till-Meeting-in-Hawaii-Cartoon.jpg)
"PETE, you’d better head to the no-till meeting in Hawaii, so both you and your corn fields can wear a grass skirt next year.”
![Plow-the-Year-around-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Plow-the-Year-around-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, you always seem to plow the year around, making dead furrows wherever you go.”
![Man-of-the-Year-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Man-of-the-Year-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, you were just voted the ‘man of the year’ by the local farm equipment dealers.”
![Fuel-Shortage-Cartoon](/ext/resources/images/2023/July%202023/Fuel-Shortage-Cartoon.jpg)
“PETE, don’t sweat the fuel shortage with all your farm machinery as you can switch to steam and use all those weeds for fuel.”
The 2024 No-Till History Series is supported by Calmer Corn Heads. For more historical content, including video and multimedia, visit No-TillFarmer.com/HistorySeries.
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