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Frank Lessiter

Frank Lessiter has served as editor of No-Till Farmer since the publication was launched in November of 1972. Raised on a six-generation Michigan Centennial Farm, he has spent his entire career in agricultural journalism. Lessiter is a dairy science graduate from Michigan State University.

lessitef@lesspub.com

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ARTICLES

Frank Comments

No-Tilling Adds $112 Per Acre in Environmental Value for the Non-Farm Public

By Frank Lessiter posted on July 19, 2021 | Posted in No-Till Farming 101, Cover Crops, Soil Health

While many of our readers certainly recognize the positive impact no-till has on their farm’s profitability, most haven’t recognized the environmentally-friendly value it also brings to America’s non-farm population. By combining the extra cropping value enjoyed by growers with the climate-friendly environmental benefits of this practice, it’s apparent to me that we’ve been underselling the overall worth of no-till.

Soil Microbes Prefer Crop Variety

By Frank Lessiter posted on May 28, 2021 | Posted in No-Till Farming 101, Cover Crops, Nutrient Management

While research on soil microbial health has mainly been done in a lab, greenhouse or in short-term field experiments, University of Illinois crop scientists have captured valuable crop rotation and tillage data from a 20-year field experiment.

Canadian No-Tillers Penalized

By Frank Lessiter posted on April 30, 2021 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops, Crop Protection, Soil Health

Saskatchewan no-tillers certainly aren’t in a cheerful mood these days when it comes to carbon sequestration. It’s because they recently learned growers who use minimal tillage or low-soil disturbance cropping systems could be shut out of the potentially lucrative Canadian market for carbon credit offsets.

Veteran Central Illinois No-Tiller Scott Davidson Passes Away

By Frank Lessiter posted on April 21, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

A long-time booster of no-till, Scott Davidson passed away on April 17, 2021. The Dalton City, Ill., family man and farmer had made the transition to 100% no-till between 1991 and 1994.

‘Planting Green’ Picks Up Speed

By Frank Lessiter posted on March 29, 2021

Instead of terminating a cover crop prior to no-tilling corn, soybeans or another crop, more growers are planting through a still growing green cover crop. Seeding a cash crop into a growing green cover crop that may range in height from just a few inches to over 6 feet tall allows both crops to grow longer in the spring.

When National Geographic Writers Condemned No-Till as the Culprit Behind Lake Erie’s Poor Water Quality and Algae Blooms, They Got it Totally Wrong

By Frank Lessiter posted on February 23, 2021

National Geographic magazine recently did an in-depth article on what’s threatening the health of the five Great Lakes. The magazine is read by 3.5 million U.S. readers and in it no-till was blamed for the poor water quality and algae blooms that are choking the life out of Lake Erie.

Failure Was Never a No-Till Option

By Frank Lessiter posted on February 22, 2021 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops

Ohio’s “No-Till Bill” says the key to selling growers on no-till over his four-decade career was to accept full responsibility for every aspect of the switch to reduced tillage.

Gain Moisture with No-Till

By Frank Lessiter posted on February 2, 2021 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Residue Management, Water Management

With the climate becoming warmer, no-tillers are in a much better position to turn limited amounts of rainfall into higher yields than neighbors who are still using intensive tillage.

Double-Croppers Lose Dicamba Options

New application restrictions mean dicamba probably can’t be used for double-cropped soybeans, but there are other options in the weed control arsenal.

By Frank Lessiter posted on February 1, 2021 | Posted in Crop Protection

With a federally-mandated June 30 cutoff for dicamba use (June 20 in Illinois), most no-tillers who double-crop soybeans after wheat or barley won’t be using this herbicide as an over-the-top application.

Building a Customized $350,000 Planter from the Ground Up

Seeking to ratchet up performance, Allan Brooks and a local dealer built a new machine from the “ground up” to fit the unique needs of this no-tiller’s farm.

By Frank Lessiter posted on January 1, 2021 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Equipment

Even though a 7-year-old 24-row John Deere planter was still effectively handling planting tasks, Allan Brooks spent 3 years debating whether investing in new seeding equipment made long-term economic sense.

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