John is a New Zealand scientist, engineer, farmer who spent 25 years at Massey University researching the reasons why no-tilled crops sometimes failed and often lost yield. His initial goal was to find the weak points in pioneering no-till efforts and see if he and his team could correct them. He developed machines and methodologies that put his scientific findings into practice, writing scientific papers and books, addressing international conferences, winning awards and marketing Cross Slot machines. This scientific work culminated in the Cross Slot No-Tillage System. Alongside this he has done important work in demonstrating the importance of retaining water vapour in the soil during seeding and restoring soil carbon. His work is on-going and he has many new ideas and designs to bring forward.