No-Till Innovator Adam Daugherty checks in from Coffee County, Tenn., with a preview of the 2025 National No-Tillage Conference (NNTC). The former NNTC Presenter of the Year, farmer and NRCS district conservation official will be leading a classroom presentation, “Don’t Start Planting Cover Crops Until…”.

Over the past decade, No-Till Innovator and former NNTC Presenter of the Year Adam Daugherty has focused on transitioning long term no-till operations into higher functioning agroecological production systems via strategic cover crop, nutrient and pest management implementation.

A dream team of no-tillers — separated by thousands of miles — gathers under one roof to lead this special No-Till 101 pre-conference workshop.

Each year we request feedback from our valued National No-Tillage Conference attendees regarding the presentations they participate in to determine who our top speakers are annually at the event. The following is a list of all recipients of the NNTC Outstanding Presentation Award based on attendee rankings.

There are many variables for growers to consider when they’re implementing cover-crop mixes into their no-till rotation — including mix design, carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratios, cash-crop goals, termination strategies and biomass management.

While I only truly count myself as being a no-tiller for the past 8 years since I started farming on my own, I’m no stranger to the practice. Of the 210 acres I farm, all but 38 acres are considered Highly Erodible Lands (HEL). The land my father, Wayne “Buzz” Bindl, farmed was similar and I’m sure this was one of the driving reasons he started no-tilling back in the early 1980s.