Two ‘founding fathers’ were instrumental in setting the stage for no-tillage, yet never got to see it in practice before their deaths. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

It’s often been said that a magazine cover is where editors announce their intentions. And our intention over our 50 years of history has been to provide no-tillers with both practical, meat-and-potatoes articles and in-depth content on emerging trends and practices meant to stretch the mind. 

The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

An Allis-Chalmers service department veteran recalls some of the difficulties with getting the first commercially-available no-till planters to market. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

As our staff was delving into research for the “Timeline of No-Till History," ​the No-Till Museum we’ll be bringing to the National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, and an all-new history series planned in 2022 to mark the “triple crown” of no-till milestones, we discovered some mystery over the first no-till planter. And it’s the kind of discovery that’s sure to fuel additional debates. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

It’s been 50 years since No-Till Farmer launched, and a lot has influenced the practice in those five decades. From equipment and chemical innovations to government influence to cover crops and the soil health movement, many factors have impacted no-till — both good and bad. 

The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

With no-till as a practice having been around for 60 years now, and No-Till Farmer for 50, we wanted to find out if we had readers who have been using the practice consistently for that long. The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

In the late 1950s, Harry Young had been thinking about reducing tillage on his family’s farm at Herndon, Ky. Conventional tillage had been practiced on the family farm since the 1830s.

The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

This video from Classic Tractor Fever shows a little-known no-till fact – that International Harvester actually was the first to release a no-till planter design in 1952-53, but exited after only 2 years, thus yielding history to Allis Chalmers when it comes to first commercially successful no-till planter. Purdue’s Don Rhine and ag historian Maurie Williamson explain the M-21 from IH.

Pioneers of No-Tillage salutes several individuals who contributed to soil conservation in Kentucky including Howard Martin who discovered and produced row cleaners to aid in no-till planting.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, Frank Lessiter talks with agronomist Barry Fisher about his lengthy career and the changes in no-till equipment and strategies he’s witnessed over the years.