The only editor of No-Till Farmer since its first edition in 1972, Frank Lessiter is known as the “Johnny Appleseed of No-Tillage” for producing the only voice for growers to learn from one another about farming without the plow.

Like the farmers he wrote for, he and no-till were scoffed at by universities, equipment suppliers, machinery dealers and, of course, the local coffee shops where “ugly or lazy farming” gossip ran rampant. With personal passion, Lessiter persistently reported on no-till successes and new solutions to usher a major paradigm shift in ag. 

Frankly Speaking is the first-of-its kind compilation of 683 of Lessiter’s personal columns and opinions – as they occurred in real-time. Lessiter’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, and set forth a global revolution in farming.

His brief and to-the-point essays – often lined with humor, rants and “shots across the bow” – include myriad glimpses into no-till farming’s storied history.