The 2024 National Strip-Tillage Conference delivered strip-till, no-till and conservation ag insights to over 350 attendees Aug. 7-9 in Madison, Wis. The event featured 6 general session presentations, 14 interactive roundtable discussions, 15 classrooms and several hours of networking in the hallways

The action kicked off with a pre-conference dinner and screening of the documentary “From the Heartland,” followed by an unfiltered panel discussion with cast members Shawn Feikema, a Luverne, Minn., strip-tiller, and Jodi DeJong-Hughes, a soil health educator and member of the Strip-Till Hall of Fame. 

Charles City, Va., strip-tiller David Hula hit leadoff in the general session room. Open seats were hard to find for the corn yield world record-holder's keynote presentation, “600 Bushels & Beyond: Checking the Boxes for Strip-Till Success.” Renan Pineda, an ag researcher from Honduras, asked Hula about in-season crop nutrition during the Q&A session. 

“We’re on the Chesapeake Bay, so we have to follow a strict nutrient management plan,” Hula told Pineda. “We put starter down with the planter, and then as soon as we can start sidedressing corn, we will. The reason I say as soon as we can is because we have small grains, soybeans, corn and only one sprayer. That sprayer is handling our herbicide applications and more. The sidedress applications usually come last because they aren’t the biggest focus.” 

Anniversary Lecture

Northfield, Minn., strip-tiller David Legvold took the stage after Hula for the 11th Anniversary Lecture. The original Strip-Till Innovator shared some of his top takeaways from decades…