I was surprised when Mike Lessiter called and asked if I’d write the foreword to his dad’s book of “Frankly Speaking” columns from No-Till Farmer (NTF). But there’s no way I’d ever turn down a Lessiter. 

My first question was, “What is a foreword?” My research indicated that a foreword should be written by an expert with instant name recognition. Having a “big name” attached to the foreword can help sell a book. I quickly surmised that Brett Favre wasn’t available. 

Of course, when it comes to no-till, there is no bigger name than Frank Lessiter. For this collection to make it onto an “Agriculture’s Best Seller List,” Frank doesn’t need Brett Favre or any other Green Bay Packer legend. Or me. 

Second, I learned a foreword should convey reasons one should read a book. If you know about Frank, you won’t need any convincing. You have my permission to skip to p. 14 and dive right into the first NTF column he wrote way back in 1972. You’ll become so engrossed that you may read all 683 columns before you come back to this foreword on p. 5. 

But if you need more convincing, I’m happy to share more about the legendary ag writer, publisher, editor and columnist. 

We know that the first widespread concern about America’s plowed ground occurred during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned us in his 1937 speech that “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself,” Frank wrote those words down. 

I’m kidding, of course. But if Frank had been around in the 1930s, we might have 90 years of “Frankly Speaking” columns instead of “only” 5 decades worth. 

But imagine a different scenario. If Frank had delayed his decision to produce NTF by, let’s say, 20 years, consider how far behind farming would be today. His publication was the only source devoted to the practice and gave confidence to thousands of farmers via the problems, and solutions, that he wrote about and shared with all who would listen. 

Many young farmers have never had to hook up their tractors to a moldboard plow or tandem disc, and are unaware of how tough it was to pioneer the no-till practice. The first research and on-farm experiments without tillage took place in the early 1960s in Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois. There were no heavy-duty planters or drills equipped to plant through sod or last year’s corn stalks. No glyphosate and no Roundup-Ready crops. 

Meanwhile, most farmers were proud of clean immaculate fields without a speck of crop residue — no matter how many times they had to work the fields to get there. No-till’s pioneers were scorned because of their weed-filled fields with last year’s “trash” still on the surface. Yet the complaints about “farming ugly” would eventually be a rallying cry in slogans, films and music. 

In 1962, Dr. Glover Triplett, a 32-year-old agronomist at Ohio State University (OSU) at Wooster, drove his wife out to see his new no-till research plots when the corn was 1 foot tall. Accustomed to clean farm fields, she was shocked, exclaiming “Glover, they’re going to fire you!” 

While a student at OSU, Bill Richards experimented with “till-plant” on the family’s Ohio farm. He met Triplett at a field day and was fascinated by no-till’s potential. In 1972, Richards connected with Frank and has been part of the no-till story ever since. 

Richards went to Washington as the chief of the Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) from 1989-93 and championed the growth of no-till farming. He funded a book, Conservation Tillage Systems and Management, by ag engineers from 12 Midwest universities. And he wrote the book’s foreword. 

My connection with no-till began about 1982 as an extension ag engineer at OSU. I was working on compaction and tillage systems when I met and worked with no-tiller David Brandt. He took over the family farm shortly after serving in Vietnam. The lower cost of equipment was a major factor in his decision to no-till. He’d be active for the rest of his life in farmer-to-farmer no-till education. He experimented with cover crops and was among the first to see the value of cover crop blends. 

Brandt and Richards frequently appeared in NTF. The No-Till Innovators and NTF Legends regularly presented at the annual National No-Tillage Conferences (NNTC). I attended the very first one in Indianapolis in 1993 and never missed one in 32 years and counting. I’m proud to be one of the extension folks who Frank called on to bring in slide and overhead projectors, and set up rooms for the concurrent sessions. 

The NNTC has always had a good mix of farmers, industry and university folks on the agenda. Hallway conversations are lively and informative. Much of my no-till education came from those NNTCs. And many of the top no-till minds I’ve brought to our annual Conservation Tillage & Technology Conference and other Ohio events came from relationships born at the NNTC. 

Frank was always adept at finding farmers with new — and often radical — ideas who found ways to succeed with the practice. In his first 6 months at NTF, he’d already quoted western Kentucky farmers who suggested cover crops might be a good fit. That was 40-some years before cover crops worked themselves into farming’s daily vernacular. 

His dedication and vision to advance no-tillage spurred a memorable NNTC moment when Charlie Rentschler dubbed him the “Johnny Appleseed of No-Till.” 

In recent years, Dr. Steve Savage praised NTF in the prominent business magazine, Forbes, noting that no-tillers and strip-tillers “are at the adoption forefront for climate-resilience enhancing farming methods … things like cover crops or unusual rotations or livestock integration.” This observation frames how everyone in agriculture should view the 60-plus years of no-till’s evolution. No-till’s story, says Savage, is a blueprint of how significant and lasting change in well-entrenched industries is still possible. 

Since Dr. Savage mentioned climate, I’ll add this. Regardless of your views on climate change, storing more carbon from the air in our soil as organic matter, along with continuous no-till and cover crops, builds soil health and increases crop yields. You’ll read many examples in the following 623 “Frankly Speaking” columns as no-tillers continue to redefine agriculture. 

I’ll close with the words of my late friend Glover Triplett. “Even after 60 years, no-till is still a journey — not a destination — since it’s being perfected every year.” 

Thank you, Frank and NTF, for continuing your role as the voice of no-till and helping all its stakeholders continue to perfect the system each year. 

Click here to order your copy of Frankly Speaking and save $10 off the full retail price.

Reeder is a No-Till Innovator of the Year alum, No-Till Farmer Living Legend, North American No-Till Farmer Research Chairman and Vice President of the Conservation Ag Foundation.