“The networking is one of the things I love most about the Strip-Till Conference,” says Zack Smith, who strip-tills in Lake Mills, Iowa. “The farmers attending this conference are some of the most innovative folks you’re going to find."

Farmers explored a range of conservation practices, from drainage water recycling and oxbow restoration to strip-till and cover crops during a choose-your-own-adventure field tour designed to bring real-world solutions to life across western Iowa last week.

Ohio State Univ. precision ag expert John Fulton outlines the impacts of new technology in strip-till systems & explores what’s on the horizon.

“We’ve been doing high-yield plots for about 6 years now,” Mark Schleisman says. “Every year, we try something new and learn what we can do across all our acres. Some things work and some don’t.”

“In the strip-till community, many people have lost sight of that,” Brian Herbek says. “If you eat a huge piece of prime rib, aka nitrogen, you won’t have room for potatoes and vegetables and all the other stuff needed to be healthy for the longevity of the race.”