Ever since 1962 when Harry Young planted his first no-till plot in Herndon, Ky., no-tillers have been pushing the envelope, always looking for a better way to farm. Over and over again, they’ve tweaked, poked and prodded their equipment, leading to innovations that have saved time, labor, water and topsoil for farmers worldwide.

With ag prices in the dumpster, it’s easy to become discouraged about what’s happening on America’s farms. But if you awoke in Indianapolis after a 5-year nap, you wouldn’t have known prices were down.

While there’s increasing emphasis on “sustainable agriculture” and “soil health,” these four buzzwords tend to ruffle the feathers of veteran no-tillers and others like myself who have followed the no-till movement for nearly a half century. It’s because we recognize that earlier generations of no-tillers were the original true innovators behind these “not-so-new” concepts that go back to the 1960s.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, we welcome University of Nebraska Extension engineer Paul Jasa to discuss no-till planting equipment use in the Midwest in part one of a two-part podcast.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast series, brought to you by Topcon Agriculture, we welcome owner of Calmer Corn Heads Marion Calmer to discuss the importance of on-farm research.