THE ANNUAL National No-Tillage Conference has evolved into part meeting of the minds, with no-till experts and novices gathering from across the country and the world, and part family reunion, with even first-time attendees bonding quickly during the intense but friendly event.

This year’s NNTC, held Jan. 10 through 13 in Des Moines, Iowa, also had the flavor of an anniversary marking the 15th annual conference. In recognition of having attended each of the events, a dozen attendees received commemorative pins during a traditional Friday evening banquet, while another 6 were given 10-year attendance pins. Syngenta Crop Protection was recognized for its sponsorship of the NNTC since the first year, and the company’s marketing firm, Goebbs & Sell, was noted, too.

Syngenta also surprised Frank Lessiter, editor and publisher of No-Till Farmer, which organizes and hosts the conference, with an award for his staff’s long-term service to the no-till industry.

The commitment of the regular attendees was also reflected from the speakers’ podium, where a collection of familiar faces returned to the conference by popular demand as determined in written surveys at earlier NNTC gatherings.

Among the returning speakers were Dwayne Beck, a South Dakota State University agronomist and manager of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm, Pierre, S.D.; Paul Jasa, a University of Nebraska ag engineer; Tracy Blackmer, director of research for the Iowa Soybean Association; Dan Towery, a no-till consultant based in Lafayette, Ind., who formerly worked for the Conservation Technology Information Center; and climatologist Elwynn Taylor of Iowa…