Author Bio

I am a veteran farmer from North Liberty, Indiana, proudly running Lee’s Edible Acres with my family. With a background in service and a commitment to sustainable agriculture, I am now in my second year of implementing no-till garden beds to enhance soil health and productivity. At the Indiana Small Farms Conference, I will share practical insights from my no-till journey and how this approach has transformed our small farm into a resilient and thriving operation. Presentation: Building Better Beds: Using No-Till Systems to Reduce Weeds, Improve Soil Health, and Hold More Water: Transitioning to a no or reduced tillage system can have dramatic, positive effects on small-scale production models, but it's getting from a traditional tillage model to the no-till that can hamper success. In this presentation, Megan Ayers of Unvarnished Farm and Ryan Lee of Lee's Edible Acres discuss a step-by-step transition to no-till for small-scale fruit and vegetable production, and report on their experience in the south and north of the state on their respective diversified specialty crop farms.