Shattering yield barriers is part of David Hula’s DNA. The Charles City, Va., farmer is known for his record-breaking corn yields, but the results are not based on repetition.

Rather, it’s Hula’s willingness to embrace change and accept the challenges of adopting a new farming philosophy. Starting in 2018, the long-time no-tiller began transitioning corn acres on his operation to strip-till, seeking more consistency in early emergence, targeted fertilizer placement and yield growth.

Switching to strip-till offered him the opportunity to increase yield potential without jeopardizing return on investment (ROI) or soil health. Hula’s evolving strip-till system contributed his capturing the 2019 National Corn Growers Assn. high corn yield title with a record of more than 616 bushels per acre.

“As we got to yield barriers, we were introduced to strip-till and we played with a few acres, banded some fertilizer and planting our corn crop into the strips,” Hula says. “The first year, in the very first field, we saw a 27-bushel per-acre yield increase, and overall, what we consistently saw is emergence quality with better seedbed preparation with strip-till.”

Hula will kick off the 2021 National Strip-Tillage Conference, Aug. 5-6 in Omaha, Neb., with a general session that will analyze the operational challenges, economic gains and growth potential of transitioning to strip-tilled corn.

The 8th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference will be held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Omaha LaVista 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 $35.00 Early Bird Registration discount is available through May 31, and attendees who register additional farm and family members receive increased savings. For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.StripTillConference.com.

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

We’ll see you in Omaha!