Frank Lessiter

Frank Lessiter

Frank Lessiter founded Lessiter Media in 1981 and has spent more than 50 years in the agricultural and equine publishing business. He still oversees all of the company's publications as Chairman and Editorial Director, with an Emphasis on American Farriers Journal and No-Till Farmer magazines.

Contact: lessitef@lesspub.com

ARTICLES

No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - April 2026

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 Agriculture: Helping to Return to Within Planetary Boundaries
  • Soil Structure Changes Under Reduced Tillage and Cover Cropping Enhance Carbon Mineralization in Mediterranean Croplands
  • Cover Cropping Increases the Abundance of Mycorrhizal and Endophytic Fungi Structures Associated with Ecosystem Functioning
  • Conservation Agriculture: A Review of Plant Residue use with Zero Tillage and Crop Rotation
  • Unlocking Climate Resilience by Exploring the Mitigation Potential of Improved Rotation with Cover Cropping

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No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - March 2026

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:

  • Sixty years of crop diversification with perennials improves yields more than no-tillage in Ohio grain cropping systems
  • Conservation Tillage Practices on GHG Emissions, Soil Health and Overall Agricultural Sustainability
  • Long-term continuous no-till corn-soybean systems: Examining soil carbon sequestration and nitrogen accumulation across various pools
  • Assessing the agricultural, environmental, and economic effects of crop diversity management: A comprehensive review on crop rotation and cover crop practices
  • Cover Crops Optimize Soil Fertility and Soybean Productivity in the Cerrado of MATOPIBA, Brazil
  • Short-term no-tillage improves soil water retention and maintains soil aeration at high moisture conditions despite reduced macroporosity
  • Tillage Radish as Cover Crop Improves Soil Health Indicators Depending on Pedoclimatic Conditions.

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International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - January 2026

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:

  • Exploring Soil Hydro-Physical Improvements Under No-Tillage: A Sustainable Approach for Soil Health.
  • Conservation agriculture: A pathway to achieving sustainable development goals.
  • Resource Conservation Technologies for Mitigating Climate Change Impacts in Agriculture: A Review.
  • Ch. 18 Soil Conservation.
  • Ch. 16 Climate Resilient Agriculture: The Perspective of Conservation Agricultural Practice.

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International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - December 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:

  • Soil health and conservation
  • In-season temporal variability of soil carbon and nitrogen pools after half a century of a tillage and crop rotation gradient.
  • Soil organic matter: The heart of soil health.
  • Cover Crops and Sustainable Agriculture.
  • Soil health and disturbance-based classification of farming systems.
  • Chapter 11. Cover Crop Mixes for Diversity, Carbon and Conservation Agriculture.
  • Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration and Distribution, Soil Biological Characteristics, and Winter Wheat Yields Under Different Tillage Practices in Long-Term Field Experiment.

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International No-Till, Strip-Till and Cover Crops Research Journal - November 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:

  • No-Tillage System: A genuine Brazilian technology that meets current global demands
  • Nature’s laws of declining soil productivity and Conservation Agriculture.
  • Soil carbon storage or sustainable conservation agriculture practices—Which should be our goal?

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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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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

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