2026 Strip-Till Innovator award recipient Robert Boyle is a self-proclaimed strip-till outlier in Coolidge, Ariz., where his 1,200-acre corn, cotton and alfalfa operation only gets about 7 inches of rain — if he’s lucky — and it often comes over the course of 2-3 storms. He's a big believer in cover crops and maintaining living roots year round.

Boyle, who was also named a Conservation Farmer of the Year by the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts, uses all 3 of his strip-till toolbars — Orthman, Environmental Tillage Systems and Zimmerman — to strip-till corn and cotton on his irrigated farm, as well as another 4,000 custom acres.

Boyle applies the strip-till mindset to his water usage approach. He only irrigates 40% of his acres and keeps the soil between the strips as undisturbed as possible to reduce water penetration (outside the strips) and weed pressure. Looking for a new way to further increase water use efficiency, Boyle has started running 360 RAIN autonomous irrigation and nutrient application units on his fields.

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