John Dobberstein

John Dobberstein

John Dobberstein is the Senior Editor of No-Till Farmer, Strip-Till Farmer, and Cover Crop Strategies. He previously covered agriculture for the Tulsa World and worked for daily newspapers in Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Joseph, Mich. This is John's second stint with Lessiter Media, the previous lasting almost 13 years.

Contact: jdobberstein@lessitermedia.com

ARTICLES

John Dobberstein

New Technique for Silage with Cover Crops

For many growers who took a prevented planting claim, 2019 might have been their first foray into cover crops. There’s always a learning curve to go through, but sometimes it leads to new ways of approaching challenges. Read on to see how a Minnesota livestock operation tackled their feed problems with covers.
Read More
John Dobberstein
From the Desk of John Dobberstein

A Win-Win for Cover Crops in the Chesapeake Bay

Cover crops have been a key tool for protecting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region and helping farmers improve soil tilth and health, but regulating nitrogen (N) with covers has proven difficult. Read what Penn State University researchers discovered about the ability of different species to sequester and fix N.
Read More
Joe Kern

Piecing Together a No-Till System from the Ground Up

A family that ignored naysayers and embraced no-till practices and living roots is bringing productivity back to tough clay soils and riverbottoms in southern Indiana.
Joe Kern and his father, John, admit they’re still dealing with a learning curve. But through working with no-till practices they’re transforming their “clay pot” soils into acreage that recently produced up to 240-bushel corn and 80-bushel soybeans.
Read More
Melvin Steck 10.2 homepage

‘Boutique’ Farm Yields Big-Time No-Till Savings and Success

97-year-old Melvin Steck has flirted with 300-bushel corn and hit 70-bushel soybeans with homemade equipment, common sense and a long-term commitment to no-till.
These days, Melvin Steck doesn’t go to many farm shows, field days or plot tours and isn’t the type to sell his program or philosophies to others. But this 97-year-old no-tiller will talk plenty about how the soil works.
Read More

[Podcast] It’s All About Carbon: Building a Thriving Soil Biological Community

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, we're discussing healthy soils and diverse organisms with Dennis Chessman, the team leader for the NRCS Soil Health Division in Lexington, Ky.
In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Calmer Corn Heads, we're discussing healthy soils and diverse organisms with Dennis Chessman, the team leader for the NRCS Soil Health Division in Lexington, Ky.
Read More
NNTC_Logo_2026_4c_Outlined.png

The National No-Tillage Conference returns January 12-15, 2027! Build and refine your no-till system with dozens of new ideas and connections at the 35th Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis, Jan. 12-15, 2027. Experience an energizing 4-day agenda featuring inspiring general session speakers, expert-led No-Till Classrooms and collaborative No-Till Roundtables. Plus, Certified Crop Adviser credits will be offered.

Learn More

Top Articles

Must Read Free Eguides

Download these helpful knowledge building tools

View More

Get all things Cover Crop all the time!

Start Your Membership
Top Directory Listings