Dr. Ademir Calegari was born on a farm in south Brazil in 1957. He started working with no-till, cover crops, and crop rotations in 1977.  He received degrees in agronomy from Brazil and a master in Soil Science from Aberdeen University, Scotland. Additionally, he acquired a Ph.D. from a combination of the University of Londrina, Brazil, University of Paris, France and Kansas State University. Dr. Calegari has also completed soils research for the Agronomic Institute of Panana, Brazil. He is a consultant for both the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Bank. Ademir previously worked in 47 different countries and is the author of numerous scientific papers and books.

With 30 years of experience with no-till, he maintains Brazil’s success with no-till is due to effective selection of cover crops to suppress diseases and increase profitability. He helped growers in countries around the world shift to no-till and sustainable soil management.

Calegari’s research emphasizes management, conservation and soil fertility. He has worked intensively with cover crops, no-tillage and crop rotation in different research projects in the state of Paraná, including a partnership with Itaipu Binacional and cooperatives in order to encourage the use of technology and soil and water management, and also promote development and training of technicians and producers from different regions of the state of Paraná and other locations.