While “pushing the limits” of early planting dates, Iowa crop consultant and farmer David Savage proved 25 years ago that no-tilling soybeans extremely early might just be crazy enough to work. Like maybe the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas?

It’s a pleasure to introduce you to my dad, Frank Lessiter, and what I would call the 5th child in our family, his No-Till Farmer (NTF) publication. I was 3 years old when Dad put out the first edition, and I can’t recall a time when NTF wasn’t a part of the family.

Our entire staff was on hand as the No-Till Farmer editor opened the first box of his brand-new book, “Frankly Speaking: A Non-Whitewashed ‘First-Hand’ Account of No-Till Farming’s Rise Over 50-Plus Years.” It features 683 of Frank’s personal columns and opinions — as they occurred in real-time dating back to 1972. The only editor of No-Till Farmer since its first edition, Frank’s front-row seat spans more than half a century, during which he witnessed no-till acres grow from 3.3 million acres to 110 million acres today.

Experience the Author/Editor of No-Till Farmer, Frank Lessiter’s, first look at Frankly Speaking: A Non-Whitewashed 'First-Hand' Account of No-Till Farming's Rise Over 50-Plus Years.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Martin-Till, Smithville, Ga., strip-tiller and cover cropper Alex Harrell shares the main takeaway from his record-breaking 218-bushel soybean yield.

While many readers think of Keeton seeding attachments and similar units on the market as seed firmers or seed firming devices, this column will explain the reasoning behind our decision to start calling them by their generic name.The No-Till History series is made possible by Calmer Corn Heads.

Among 6,882 entries in the 2023 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) NCGA annual yield contest from 3,824 growers in 46 states, a father-and-son team from Charles City, Va., captured the top two rankings with yields of 590 and 623 bushels per acre.