"I've been coming to this conference for over 10 years and this was definitely one of the best programs yet," an attendee told No-Till Farmer technology editor Noah Newman as the conference wrapped up.

“Many growers understand that systems approach and the impact of changing one element of the system and having a cascade effect on others,” Jake Munroe says. “For those thinking about going to strip-till, a systems approach means thinking it through and planning before the changes are made.”

Fifteen years ago, strip-till was widely touted as the way row crop farmers could have it all. By just tilling the narrow rows where they will place their seeds, they'll have a strip with higher spring soil temperatures and a trash-free seed bed for planting like conventional tillage methods provide, but still get most of the reduced erosion and increased soil organic matter benefits of no-till.

Jerry Hatfield. Liz Haney. Roy Pfaltzgraff. Lance Gunderson, Dan Luepkes. Russell Hedrick. Sarah Martello. Talk about a cavalcade of All-Stars. With heavy hitters like those on the program, we knew this year’s Big Soil Health Event was a can’t-miss event.

Cade Bushnell received the Randy Stauffer Stewardship Award from the IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) at their annual meeting, recognizing his farm conservation work through the Precision Conservation Management (PCM) program.

Looking to capitalize on the organic and nutrient benefits of both cover crops, Sanderson then strip-tilled and planted corn in between the winter peas and radishes, hoping the corn roots could reach both cover crops.