Nearly 400 farmers, agronomists, researchers, educators, dealers and manufacturers from all over the U.S. and other countries including Canada and Ireland, packed the Hyatt Regency in Coralville, Iowa for the 12th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference July 31-Aug. 1.

Jerry Hatfield, the former director of the USDA Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, kicked off the action with a keynote presentation — sponsored by Youngblut Ag — about strip-till’s critical role in the quest for healthier soils.

Elk Point, S.D., strip-tiller Joey Hanson was up next with a “meat and potatoes” 12th Anniversary Lecture — sponsored by Conservation Ag Foundation — about his top observations from over 100,000 acres of custom strip-tilling in South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.

“The energy in the room was as electric as I’ve seen in my 4 years at the National Strip-Tillage Conference,” says Noah Newman, Strip-Till Farmer technology editor. “We tried to put together a program that featured dynamic speakers from different backgrounds and regions who had their own unique presentation styles. The goal was to cover all pieces of the strip-till puzzle, from soil health to nutrient management. We took the feedback from last year’s attendees to heart and used it to guide our selection of speakers and topics this year.”

In between general sessions, attendees chose their own adventure with 16 breakout classrooms, 14 roundtable discussions, and hours of networking with fellow attendees and the 16 title sponsors — Dawn, Environmental Tillage Systems, Kuhn Krause, Ostara, Zimmerman, Schlagel, Ag Leader, AgSynergy, Vulcan Equipment, Yetter, Unverferth, ForGround by Bayer, Nutrien, Phospholutions, LandLuvr and Huma.

Moundridge, Kan., strip-tiller Ray Flickner detailed his water conservation strategies and dozens of on-farm research trials during the 2025 Strip-Till Innovator presentation — sponsored by LandLuvr.

Jon Stevens provided a post-lunch energy boost with a highly entertaining presentation about how he’s challenging the strip-till status quo in the tough soils of Rock Creek, Minn.  

Gary Zimmer, the father of biological agriculture, kicked off the Friday morning general session, bringing 50 years’ worth of experience to the Strip-Till Conference stage for the first time.

“Live like you are going to die tomorrow, farm like you are going to live forever,” Zimmer said in his inspirational closing remarks.

In the final general session, Jared Fender revealed brand-new data from year 1 of a massive strip-till trial at the Univ. of Illinois.

Several attendees also participated in the pre-conference Strip-Till Field Day, hosted by Iowa State University Extension in nearby Crawfordsville, where 11 different toolbars were on display. 

The 13th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference will take place in Springfield, Ill., Aug. 6-7, 2026. Vulcan Equipment was announced on stage as the first title sponsor.