Josh Koehn

There’s no secret formula for consistently harvesting 300-plus bushel corn, especially in Southwest Kansas, where extreme levels of stress are the norm. It takes a combination of experience, innovation, opportunity and timeliness.

Montezuma, Kan., strip-tiller Josh Koehn doesn’t claim to have perfected the process for high-yielding corn, but meticulous plot work, attention to detail and willingness to learn from mistakes on his 10,000 acre operation have routinely kept him among the top yielding farmers in the country.

“We’ve been strip-tilling on our irrigated ground since 2008 and that system is a large part of our program for increasing production,” he says. “We’re always looking to take that next step, because we know it’s possible.”

During a classroom session at the 2019 National Strip-Tillage Conference, Aug. 1-2 in Peoria, Ill., Koehn will share his approach to consistently achieving high-yielding corn, using strip-till to deal with adverse conditions in a growing season, choosing the right fertility program, developing a full-season farm management plan and setting attainable yield goals for your farm.

During a post-conference soil health workshop, “Seeing is Believing: A Visual Validation of Soil Health,” conference attendees will join former USDA soil scientist and founder of Wetland and Soil Consulting Services, Frank Gibbs, in at a nearby farm for a unique and eye-opening demonstration of soil health. Gibbs will conduct his famous “smoking tile” experiment which provides a visual analysis of soil structure, quality and earthworm activity. This workshop costs an additional $99 to attend. Attendees may sign up online or by calling (866) 839-8455 or (262) 432-0388.

The 6th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference will be held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton East Peoria Riverfront Hotel & Conference Center and feature 2 days of strip-till education through an array of thought-provoking general sessions, strategy-packed strip-till classrooms and highly collaborative strip-till roundtable discussions.

A $25.00 Early Bird Registration discount is available through May 31, and attendees who register their farm and family members receive additional savings. For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.StripTillFarmer.com/NSTC.

Title sponsors making the learning and networking opportunities possible for strip-tillers include AgroLiquid, Copperhead Ag, Dawn Equipment Co., Environmental Tillage Systems, Ingersoll, Kuhn Krause, Montag Mfg., Orthman Mfg., Schlagel Mfg., Topcon Agriculture, Vulcan Equipment and Yetter Mfg. Co. All 12 companies will exhibit during the 2-day educational event.

We’ll see you in Peoria!