Eric & Megan Wallendal

Corn and soybeans continue to be the crops of choice for strip-tillers, validated by 97% and 44% of past Strip-Till Farmer benchmark study respondents citing the cereal grain and legume as staple in their cropping rotation.

But some farmers are incorporating vegetables and other specialty crops as lucrative additions to their strip-till systems. At Wallendal Farms, Eric Wallendal and his wife, Megan, among this group of progressive farmers, experimenting with high-value row crops (historically more than 35 different vegetables on farm) and organic farming practices as profitable pieces of their evolving 3,200-acre operation near Grand Marsh, Wis.

“We’re always trying to keep something a little bit different on our operation,” Eric says. “Strip-tilling high value crops require a high level of management, making sure all the pieces fit, whether it’s cover crops, seedbed preparation or weed control.”

During a classroom session at the 2018 National Strip-Tillage Conference, July 26-27 in Iowa City, Iowa, the Wallendals will share their systematic approach to strip-tilling specialty and organic crops, along with the transitional considerations for increasing organic farming acres.

The 5th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference will be held at the Marriott Coralville 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 30, and attendees who register their farm and family members receive additional savings. For more information and to register for the conference, visit striptillconference.com.

Title sponsors making the learning and networking opportunities possible for strip-tillers include AgroLiquid, Copperhead Ag, Dawn Equipment Co., Environmental Tillage Systems, Ingersoll Tillage Group, Kuhn Krause, Montag Mfg., Schlagel Manufacturing, Thurston Mfg. (Blu-Jet), Topcon Agriculture, Vulcan Equipment and Yetter Mfg.