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Ag mechanic built early no-till planters

Nat Williams
Oct 17, 2021
Oct 17, 2021 Updated Oct 19, 2021

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Donnie Morris still has one of the original no-till planters he made while working at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center.

Photo by Nat Williams

One challenge was providing enough downward pressure for seeds to penetrate unplowed soil and stubble. The breakthrough came with the creation of what Donnie Morris calls a cutter-packer wheel to use on the single-row planter.

Photo by Nat Williams

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Nat Williams

SIMPSON, Ill. — It was a radical idea, planting seeds directly into unworked soil — so radical no machine existed that did such a thing. So Donnie Morris made one.

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John Deere patent decline letter — In a letter, John Deere declined to pursue Morris’s planter, citing concerns about insect control.
Photo by Nat Williams

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