When it comes to sharing cropping knowledge, few people have had more impact on expanding the no-till acreage than the latest crop of No-Till Innovator award winners.

Three individuals from North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, along with a group based in Virginia, make up the 11th annual class of No-Till Innovators. As part of this traditional program that is co-sponsored by Syngenta Crop Protection and No-Till Farmer, they are being honored during the 15th annual National No-Tillage Conference in mid-January in Des Moines, Iowa.

These award winners were selected for their dedication to the adoption and promotion of conservation tillage practices regardless of the type of crop grown or brands of equipment or products used.

“We are pleased to present these individuals and groups with a 2006 No-Till Innovator Award,” says Scott DeSotel, market development manager for Syngenta Crop Protection. “Their dedication to promoting the most advanced techniques in conservation tillage has helped numerous growers start no-till programs.”

Joe Breker, Crop Production

Havana, N.D., grower Joe Breker began no-tilling with his father and brothers in the late 1970s. As a student at North Dakota State Univ., he explored zero tillage and brought these new farming techniques home. Today, Breker no-tills 2,700 acres of no-till wheat, corn, soybeans, flax and field peas.

“My family and I saw the advantages of reduced tillage early on,” he says. “It was a controversial change at the time, but it had obvious benefits. We always tried new equipment and new techniques and I continue to…