Loran Steinlage, a 2020 No-Till Innovator award winner and No-Till Farmer’s 2023 Conservation Ag Operator Fellow, no-tills 750 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, buckwheat, rye, barley and sunflowers in West Union, Iowa. Always thinking about how to move his operation forward, Steinlage has been experimenting with advanced farming systems like interseeding, relay cropping and 60-inch corn for nearly 2 decades.

Olexiy is a certified organic no-tiller who has worked with Dr. Erin Silva of the University of Wisconsin on rye and beans. Olexiy spearheaded manufacturing of the first Ukrainian-made roller crimper, set up over a dozen Johnson Su bioreactors, grows diverse cover crops and uses farm-made Biodynamic preparations — he once increased his soybean yield by 20% by spraying EM (effective microorganisms) propagated on his farm. He also runs about 40 small plot experiments on his farm every year.

Konstantin

Dr. Erin Silva is an associate professor and state extension specialist in organic and sustainable cropping systems in the Department of Plant Pathology as well as the director for the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison. Through her work at UW-Madison, she has developed an internationally recognized program that improves the management of organic production systems and increases the profitability and sustainability for organic producers and rural communities.