With 54 inches of annual average rainfall, most wouldn’t think Annie Dee needs irrigation on her 4,000-acre farm. But often the rain shuts off in late summer and isn’t available during the critical developmental stages of corn — costing her operation yield and income.

“Year after year, we would get a good stand of corn growing, fertilize it well, get it all the way to tassel and then the rain would shut off,” the Aliceville, Ala., no-tiller explains. “It actually rains very little during the critical stage of corn development for yield.”

Dee installed an advanced irrigation system on 3,000 acres of her operation, including a reservoir that collects runoff, high-efficiency pumps, variable-rate irrigation and utilization of Lindsay’s FieldNET program that ties together different technology platforms on her farm.

Dee will detail the technologically advanced water management practices she’s implemented, along with the return on investment she’s seen after implementing irrigation in 2011 to water crops at critical growth junctures to increase yields.

Understanding that the need for no-till knowledge is year-round and seeing the opportunity to bridge the unique learning experiences of the National No-Tillage Conference, No-Till Farmer is proud to launch a brand new 2-day educational event.

The National No-Tillage Conference Summer Intensive — free to attend — will be held virtually June 23-24 and feature timely, topical information from no-till experts to improve your no-till know-how. Visit www.No-TillFarmer.com/NNTC-2021summer for speaker updates, session topics and registration information for this free virtual event.

Title sponsors making the learning opportunities possible for no-tillers include Advancing Eco Agriculture, Martin-Till, Neudorff/Ferroxx and Yetter Farm Equipment.