First-Generation Growers Break Down Challenges, Victories with Conservation Farming

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Bio Till Cover Crops, we head inside Jimmy and Andy Gray’s Leopold Conservation Award-winning operation in Stony Point, N.C. Jon Stevens takes us along for the ride as he harvests a no-tilled corn-on-corn field in the challenging soils of Rock Creek, Minn.

On this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, technology editor Noah Newman sits down with young farmers James Hepp and Joel Reddick for a discussion about their strip-till and no-till systems, and the challenges they face as young farmers.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Bio Till Cover Crops, No-Till Innovator Marion Calmer checks in from Alpha, Ill., with 7 tips for a better harvest. Plus, we pay a visit to Tony Peirick’s farm in Watertown, Wis., for a conversation about planting green and whether you need to overhaul your equipment to make the practice work.

Soybean yields can be stubbornly stagnant for some farmers, but Bryan Severs has found a way to break through the yield barrier. The Potomac, Ill., grower, who no-tills non-GMO soybeans and strip-tills corn across 5,000 acres, shares his program for raising high-yielding soybeans as his farm shoots for 75 bushels an acre in every field, every year.

Halloween Sales to Suburbanites Worth Making by No-Till Farmer

In today’s episode of the podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, editor John Dobberstein spoke with Ray Weil, an internationally renowned soil scientist at the University of Maryland and former speaker at the National No-Tillage Conference.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Bio Till Cover Crops, Univ. of Illinois analysts dive into new data from the Precision Conservation Management program, comparing the economic differences between no-till, strip-till and other tillage systems.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Bio Till Cover Crops, West Union, Iowa, No-Till Innovator Loran Steinlage shares what he’s learned from farmers in Ukraine. 2025 Conservation Ag Operator Fellow Michael Thompson checks in from his farm in Almena, Kan., with a look at his planter setup and unique approach to starter fertilizer applications.

In this podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, we’ll finish up the road trip with a visit to New Park, Pennsylvania grower Paul McPherson at Maple Lawn Farms.

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, we head inside the Watershed Protection Committee of Racine County’s annual field day in Rochester, Wis., for a look at the latest takeaways from their no-till vs. conventional research plots. A ‘slake test’ reveals eye-opening differences between no-till and conventional soils, and independent research agronomist Jim Stute shares his big economic takeaway from the test plots.