Part 2: Respecting & Restoring the Land with No-Till Legend Ray McCormick

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, we're joined by AgroLiquid CEO Nick Bancroft and Monty'd Plant Food Co. CEO Jeff Sangalli who share more insights about the integration of their two companies, new opportunities for joint technology advancement between the companies and how the companies will continue to be “farmer first” in their market approach going forward.

In the final segment of this three-part podcast series, Dennis Michelsen and Michael Musselman, hosts of the podcast Innovations in Your Fields -- powered by NewFields Ag -- interview No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter and Lessiter Media President Mike Lessiter about working together as a father-son team and the importance of drafting and refining succession plans, whether it’s a farming business or any business. They also discuss the inspiration behind Frank’s newly released book – “Frankly Speaking: A Non-Whitewashed ‘First-Hand’ Account of No-Till Farming’s Rise over 50-Plus Years.”

In part two of this podcast series, Dennis Michelsen and Michael Musselman, hosts of the podcast Innovations in Your Fields -- powered by NewFields Ag -- interview No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter and Lessiter Media President Mike Lessiter about the role improved corn genetics played in the growth of no-till, and the value proposition of the practice even with today’s high input costs. Frank also talks about the beginning of the National No-Till Conference, mixes in anecdotes from decades of interviews and farm visits to lend perspective.

Dennis Michelsen and Michael Musselman, hosts of the podcast Innovations in Your Fields -- powered by NewFields Ag -- interview No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter and Lessiter Media President Mike Lessiter about the evolution of no-till, the founding days of No-Till Farmer, and trends and technologies that helped no-till practices grow across the U.S. They also discuss the vision behind Frank’s first book about no-till, “From Maverick to Mainstream: A History of No-Till Farming.”

We’re back this week with another conversation with No-Till Living Legend and 2024 Conservation Ag Operator Fellow Ray McCormick — this time from the cab of his truck as he’s out scouting after a heavy rainstorm in Vincennes, Ind. Today’s episode was recorded in mid-May, a day after the Vincennes area received 5 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Let’s listen in as Ray scouts fields with No-Till Farmer contributing writer Michaela Paukner.

Dover, Minn., no-tillers Dan and Abby Fohrman raised a no-till yield of 298.95 bushels in 2023, securing them a first-place win in the National Corn Growers Association’s Minnesota no-till non-irrigated category last year. In today’s episode of the podcast, brought to you by The Andersons’ Over Pass Lineup, contributing writer Laura Barrera talks with Dan Fohrman about his contest-winning corn yield and his approach to raising high-yield no-till corn.

The problem with traditional tissue testing for crops is the lack of information about how much of a nutrient is needed to correct a problem, according to Hickory, N.C., no-tiller Russell Hedrick. In today’s episode of the podcast, brought to you by The Andersons’ Over Pass Lineup, Hedrick and Sarah Martello, CEO and co-founder of Transparency Wise Technologies, talk about Foliar Scripts and the benefits it brings for farmers.

When Muncie, Ind., farmer Joe Hamilton decided to switch from conventional tillage to no-till, everyone told him he’d be crazy to make the transition on 1,000 acres during his first year. In today’s episode of the podcast, brought to you by The Andersons’ Over Pass Lineup, Hamilton shares the lessons he learned in year 1 and beyond.

No-tillers stand to benefit from updates to the U.S. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) tax credit. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS released a notice April 30 that details an updated version of the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, which is used to determine CI scores of SAF feedstocks.

More than 91% of no-tillers who responded to the 2024 No-Till Operational Practices Survey use precision technologies on their farms, and many experts see no-tillers on the cutting edge of new agriculture technology like autonomy. In this episode of the podcast, brought to you by The Andersons, no-tiller Nick Guetterman of Bucyrus, Kan.; John Fulton, Ohio State University Extension ag engineer; no-tiller Joe Hamilton of Muncie, Ind.; and no-tiller Tim Norris of the “No-Till Capital of the World” Knox County, Ohio, discuss their outlook on autonomy in agriculture and the most valuable precision technologies in use on their farms.