National Strip-Tillage Conference
2018 PROGRAM JUST RELEASED!
We’re excited to bring you this unique, one-of-a-kind learning experience assembling the best strip-tillers, agronomists and researchers together in one location to share cutting-edge ideas, techniques and strategies to raise your level of strip-till profitability, efficiency and efficacy.
THURSDAY, JULY 26
7:30 am to 6:00 p.m.
Strip-Till Registration Time
8:50 to 9:00 a.m.
Official Start of the 2018 National Strip-Tillage Conference in the Coral Grand Ballroom.
9:00 am to 9:45 a.m.
“Banking on the Proven Benefits of Cover Crops & Strip-Till”
Jack Boyer
Farmer
Reinbeck, Iowa
Jack Boyer is no stranger to experimentation. As a retired ag engineer, the Reinbeck, Iowa, farmer spent more than 3 decades proactively problem-solving equipment issues. For the last 10 years, he’s applied his trial-anderror methods to cover crops and today utilizes cover crops on 100% of his corn, seed corn and soybean operation. But Boyer acknowledges a successful marriage of strip-till and cover crops takes work and a willingness to learn from mistakes, while also celebrating the successes.
Boyer details his experience integrating cover cropping practices into his farm operation to include examples of nutrient application savings (as much as $30 per acre of N), water infiltration benefits and 4 years of interseeding trials.
9:50 am to 10:50 a.m.
Premiere Lecture Series presented by Midwest Bio-Tech Inc.
Ben Elliott
Microbiologist
"Stimulating & Strengthening the Biological Power of Your Strip-Tilled Soils"
Seeing a green and growing corn plant is often perceived as a visual validation of a healthy strip-till system. But subsurface investigation is wise to truly understand the biological stability of your soils for long-term success. Microbiologist Ben Elliott has worked with farmers in 40 states and on more than 80 commercial crops, specializing in intensive management for growers adopting new farming practices — including strip-till — based on biological aspects of decision-making, data management and systems integration. One of Elliott’s goals is to take growers from the status quo to understanding how to adapt strip-till from start to finish, identifying the most fertile acres to experiment on and evolving tougher soils to be consistently productive based on soil analysis and technology. “A year ago, we could only mark by science standards about 450 species of microbes in the ground that we found to be beneficial to any kind of crop,” he says. “Today, that number has increased 10 fold, to where we now can mark 4,200 species in the ground.”
During this Premier Lecture Series general session, Elliott details his experience transitioning farmers into strip-till systems, by looking at how biology effects specific crops in certain soil conditions and defined weather patterns.
11:00 am to Noon
Choose from 4 Thought-Provoking Strip-Till Classrooms
- Building Your First Berms: Early Lessons Learned in Strip-Till
- Budgeting for Change & Creativity with a Cost-Effective Strip-Till System
- Banking on Data-Driven Decisions to Reduce Nitrogen Needs
- Pushing Strip-Till Productivity & Profit with High-Value Crops
Noon to 12:45 p.m.
Lunch Break — Presented by Youngblut Ag
12:45 to 1:45 p.m.
“Banding Fertilizer: Are You Hitting the ‘Sweet Spot’ or Missing the Mark?”
Ray Asebedo
Assistant Professor of
Precision Agriculture
Kansas State University
Strip-tillers understand and sometimes experience the consequences of placing fertilizer either too close or too far away from their target zone. But how do the results of banded and broadcast applications compare to other tillage systems in terms of yield?
Ray Asebedo received his bachelor’s in agronomy and doctorate in soil fertility and serves as assistant professor of precision agriculture at Kansas State University, where he has conducted comparative research on fertilizer applications to assess yield variability, plant response and nutrient retention in the soil.
Asebedo shares the measurable results and analyzes conclusions based on ongoing studies of nutrient management strategies in different tillage systems.
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
10 Super Strip-Till Roundtables
- Mixing it Up: What are the Best Cover Crop Combinations?
- Better Advice for Strip-Tilling Soybeans
- Smarter Spraying: Advice on Cutting Application Costs
- Breaking Down Top Corn-On-Corn Residue Management Tips
- Banding vs. Broadcast: Analyzing the Benefits & Barriers
- Managing Moisture: How to Make Every Drop Count
- A Strip-Tiller’s Checklist for Machinery Maintenance
- For Fall Strip-Tillers Only
- Stretching Your Fertilizer Dollar with Split Applications
- What is the Secret to Building the Ideal Berm?
3:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Networking/Refreshment Break — Presented by Agrium
3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Choose from 4 Strip-Till Classrooms Jam-Packed with Learning Opportunities
- Leveraging a Mix-&-Match Strategy to Unlock Cover Cropping Rewards
- A Strip-Tiller’s Guide to Maximizing Planter Performance & Avoiding Costly Mistakes
- Using New Technologies to Enhance Nitrogen Efficiencies in Complex Production Environments
- Managing what You Measure: Soil Health Tips for Strip-Tillers
4:45 to 5:45 p.m.
10 Even Better Strip-Till Roundtables
- Applying Anhydrous: A Pro & Con Discussion
- Smarter Seeding: Planter Tips, Tricks & Techniques
- Strip-Tilling Beyond Corn & Soybeans
- Troubleshooting Technology: Solving Precision Pain Points
- For Spring Strip-Tillers Only
- Help Me Solve Critical Weed, Insect & Disease Problems
- Digging Into How to Increase Soil Organic Matter
- Strip Refreshing: The How, When & Why
- Managing Manure Application: Do’s & Don’ts
- What I Learned During My First Year Strip-Tilling
6:15 to 7:45 p.m.
National Strip-Tillage Conference Dinner — Presented by Orthman Mfg.
(Included in your strip-till conference registration fee)
Joshua McGrath
Associate Professor and
Soil Management Specialist
University of Kentucky
"Limiting the Variability of Variable-Rate Application"
Many strip-tillers consider precise fertilizer application a foundational element of their systems. They seek ways to more efficiently and effectively place nutrients where they are most accessible to growing plants. Variable-rate nutrient application is still an emerging practice, so what are the secrets to overcoming adoption obstacles and bringing it from a technology on the brink to a mainstream tool?
“The scale at which we should manage nutrients remains much smaller than the scale at which we do manage nutrients,” says University of Kentucky associate professor and soil management specialist Joshua McGrath. “Generally, research indicates the scale for nitrogen management should be about 2 corn plants. That means we should be switching rate every 14 inches.”
During the keynote dinner presentation, McGrath discusses ongoing research into variable-rate technology, including creating the optimal conditions for creating fertility prescriptions for maximum plant response.
7:45 to 8:45 p.m.
Dessert and Networking — Presented by Orthman Mfg.
8:45 to Midnight.
The National Strip-Tillage Conference Hospitality Event — Presented by Hawkins