Hosted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), the tour included a visit to Ryan and Christina Larson’s 1,000-acre strip-till and no-till operation in Garretson, S.D., near the southwestern Minnesota border.

Ray Flickner’s use of cutting-edge technologies and management practices to conserve water and boost soil health — and willingness to put everything under a microscope for all to see — makes him more than worthy of the 2025 Strip-Till Innovator Award.

“When you approach the rootworm as just a problem that has to be solved, you’re not taking into account the animal’s biology,” Ann Marie Journey says. “You’re hitting it just at certain points or with certain methods or controls, and you’re not allowing yourself in effect to have a conversation to gain insight back from the rootworms about what it is that makes them successful in any given place."

Daniel H. Smith, nutrient and pest management program manager for the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, checks in from the Lancaster Agricultural Research station with details from a 6-year study.

With research advances suggesting that early planting can maximize crop yield potential and therefore return on crop input investments, farmers are often dealing with planting into cold conditions.

Russell Hedrick noticed that late-season fertility uptake was being limited by inadequate moisture availability in his soil. He solved that problem in 2023 by attaching a deep-banding fertilizer bar with Yetter 2996 20-inch coulters to his planter.