Articles by Frank Lessiter

International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - October 2025

Each month, the conservation ag group at Cornell University offers an analysis of the latest scientific papers dealing with conservation agriculture research from around the world. For this on-going web series, our editors will be selecting several research papers from the Cornell list that will be of special interest to North American no-tillers, strip-tillers and cover croppers.

In this edition:

  • Can the global drone revolution make agriculture more sustainable? Rapid growth in drone use is upending expectations but also inducing trade-offs.
  • Tillage and residue management modulate the links between soil physical signatures and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomarkers.
  • Mapping the conceptual and intellectual structure of soil health research (1996–2021): a terms co-occurrence and co-cited reference network analysis.
  • Suggestions for promoting SOC storage within the carbon farming framework: Analyzing the INFOSOLO database.

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International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - September 2025

Each month, the conservation ag group at Cornell University offers an analysis of the latest scientific papers dealing with conservation agriculture research from around the world. For this on-going web series, our editors will be selecting several research papers from the Cornell list that will be of special interest to North American no-tillers, strip-tillers and cover croppers.

In this edition:

  • Integrated soil health management influences soil properties: Insights from a U.S. Midwest study.
  • Furrow Irrigated Long-Term No-Till and Conventional-Till Soil Evaluation in the Mid-South USA.
  • Cross-Effect Between Cover Crops and Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Application on Microbiote Communities in Field Crops Soils.
  • Responses of soil reactive nitrogen losses and nitrogen pools to straw mulching.

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International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - July 2025

Each month, the conservation ag group at Cornell University offers an analysis of the latest scientific papers dealing with conservation agriculture research from around the world. For this on-going web series, our editors will be selecting several research papers from the Cornell list that will be of special interest to North American no-tillers, strip-tillers and cover croppers.

In this edition:

  • Conservation Soil Tillage: Bridging Science and Farmer Expectations-An Overview from Southern to Northern Europe.
  • Comparison of bacterial communities of agricultural soils subjected to different types of tillage in the Valle del Mezquital, Mexico.
  • Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Nitrogen Dynamics: Effects of Maize Straw Incorporation Under Contrasting Nitrogen Fertilization Levels

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International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal – May 2025

Each month, the conservation ag group at Cornell University offers an analysis of the latest scientific papers dealing with conservation agriculture research from around the world. For this on-going web series, our editors will be selecting several research papers from the Cornell list that will be of special interest to North American no-tillers, strip-tillers and cover croppers.

In this edition:

  • Effects of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Nitrogen Oxide N2O Emissions and Crop Yield in Global Cereal Cropping Systems
  • Monitoring the Spatial Distribution of Cover Crops and Tillage Practices Using Machine Learning and Environmental Drivers across Eastern South Dakota
  • Potential Long-Term, Global Effects of Enhancing the Domestic Terrestrial Carbon Sink in the United States through No-Till and Cover Cropping
  • Global Synthesis of Cover Crop Impacts on Main Crop Yield
  • Development and Testing of a Precision Hoeing System for Re-compacted Ridge Tillage in Maize

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A Trip Down Strip-Till Memory Lane: Pioneers, Breakthroughs & More

While growers were moving toward no-tilled soybeans in a big way during the 1990s, no-tilled corn acres remained somewhat flat. Many farmers feared problems when they tried to no-till corn into cold, wet ground covered with residue. As a result, strip-till soon emerged as a compromise.
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Yes, He's a Regenerative Agriculture Skeptic

When the principles of regenerative ag are broken down to their core components, Shane Thomas sees it as a bundling of practices with the aim of “regenerating” the soil (an outcome), including increasing organic matter (soil carbon) encouraging biological activity and mitigating soil erosion.
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A Terrific National No-Tillage Conference Program — Offering Many, Many Profit-Building Reasons on Why You Need to Attend

Expect an energetic 4 days of non-stop learning in Louisville from leading no-tillers, agronomists, researchers & suppliers who will be sharing their most valuable ideas to help you get the most out of your 2025 no-till cropping program.

A longtime attendee at the National No-Tillage Conference (NNTC) recently told me our 2025 lineup of topics and speakers is among the very best in the entire 33-year history of this event.


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