Vincennes, Ind., No-Till Innovator and Legend Ray McCormick believes nothing pays greater dividends than investing in conservation. When he talks diversification, it means no-tilling corn, wheat, full-season and double-cropped soybeans and cover crops, raising peaches for fresh market, and managing 1,000 acres of woodlands and wetlands for sportsmen. Cover crops are an integral part of McCormick’s system, and although he’s been planting them for decades, he’s refining his techniques every year. The 2024 Conservation Ag Operator Fellow shares observations from a challenging growing season, including the impact of cover crops in an extremely wet spring. McCormick also reveals his playbook for seeding cover crops from the combine and details the envelope-pushing experiments planned for 2025.

You’ll Learn: How to dial back cover crop seeding rates for higher efficiency & new techniques for using cover crops to suppress weeds & cut chemical costs.

The 33rd Annual National No-Tillage Conference returns to Louisville on Jan. 7-10, 2025. Whether you're new to no-till or refining your system, this event delivers fast-paced learning from top no-till farmers, agronomists and experts. With over 12 General Sessions, 23 expert-led Classrooms and 34 Roundtables to choose from, plus opportunities to earn pesticide recertification and CCA credits, the 2025 No-Till Conference is a must-attend event for anyone looking to enhance their no-till farming practices.

View the full speaker agenda and topics here.

For more information about the 2025 National No-Tillage Conference, to register for the event and to book your hotel room visit no-tillfarmer.com/nntc. Use code SPEAKER50 for $50 off your registration.

The Conference extends its thanks to our 2025 sponsors: Precision Planting, Ag Leader, Montag, Martin-Till, Yetter, Bio Till Cover Crops, ForGround by Bayer, Copperhead Ag, The Andersons Plant Nutrient Group, HORSCH, Titan International, and Midwest Bio-Tech.

A no-tiller for more than 30 years in a 3,200-acre operation, McCormick believes nothing pays bigger dividends than investing in conservation. When the 2024 No-Till Farmer Conservation Ag Operator Fellow talks diversification, it means raising peaches for the fresh market, no-tilling corn, wheat, both full-season and double-cropped soybeans and cover crops, along with managing 1,000 acres of woodlands and wetlands for waterfowl and whitetail deer hunting. Recognizing the nutrient and soil protection value, McCormick says he would not sell residue from his no-till fields even if someone offered $100 per ton.