More than 600 farmers, researchers, educators and industry experts traveled to Louisville, Ky., Jan. 7-10 to attend the 33rd annual National No-Tillage Conference. Attendees representing several states in the U.S., along with the countries of Australia, Canada, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand and more spent 4 days absorbing knowledge and networking at the event. The conference, which took place at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, featured 14 general sessions, 24 classrooms and 34 roundtable discussions on a variety of topics related to no-till.

"I've been coming to this conference for over 10 years and this was definitely one of the best programs yet," an attendee told No-Till Farmer technology editor Noah Newman as the conference wrapped up.

The action kicked off Tuesday night with a pre-conference workshop — "Foundations for a Successful No-Till Operation" sponsored by Ashwood Biochar — moderated by No-Till Innovator Randall Reeder. For 3 hours, fellow No-Till Innovators Rick Clark, Adam Daugherty, Jimmy Emmons and Loran Steinlage fielded questions on everything from cover crops and compaction to slugs and planter attachments. The interactive session offered new ideas for attendees to add to their system for 2025 and also served as a refresher course for no-till veterans. 

No-Till Legend Dwayne Beck hit leadoff Wednesday morning with the Silver Anniversary Lecture — sponsored by Needham Ag — "Learning from the Past to Move No-Till Forward." The long-time Dakota Lakes Research Farm manager shared key observations from over 40 years of research to help attendees understand the true value of positioning their operation for long-term success. 

"Ecosystems that leak nutrients for extended periods of time become deserts," Beck told the audience.

Jasper, Mo., no-tiller Mac Kincaid followed Beck's presentation with an unfiltered look at how he integrated livestock and cover crops to "regenerate" his land and profits. The Soil Health U Young Regenerative Producer of the Year shared data from on-farm trials to illustrate the true impact and cost of his management descisions. 

The afternoon general session following lunch was action-packed with back-to-back-to-back presentations from dryland corn yield record-breaker Russell Hedrick, Horsch Manufacturing founder Michael Horsch (Champions & Challengers Lecture sponsored by Precision Agri Services) and No-Till Innovator Ray McCormick (Frank Lessiter Legacy Series sponsored by Calmer). 

"Tillage and chemical trials on our farm show that any time we disturb the soil, there's lower biological activity and nutrient release," Hedrick said.

"Every seed of a plant is looking for the same environment...soil density change (such as plow pan) is the worse thing you can deliver," Horsch said.

After a networking break, Morry "The Grizz" Taylor wrapped up the day with an entertaining session on the latest tire technology and his outlook for the ag industry under the Trump administration. 

Thursday morning began with a Young No-Tillers Panel featuring Noah Newman, James Hepp (Rockwell City, Iowa) and Joel Reddick (Bardwell, Ky.). The young no-tillers shared their unique perspectives, systems and strategies and offered potential solutions to the challenges many young farmers face when implementing new systems. 

No-Till Innovators Jim Hoorman and Jimmy Emmons (David Brandt Memorial Lecture sponsored by Farmers for Soil Health) continued the morning general sessions with information-packed presentations on nutrient function and overcoming challenging weather conditions. 

The Thursday afternoon session was one for the record books as No-Till Farmer president Mike Lessiter honored the new class of No-Till Innovators on stage — Adam Daugherty, Jimmy Emmons, Laura Tessieri (North Jersey Conservation Resource & Development) and Truax Company.

Cambridge, Ill., no-tiller Monte Bottens was also recognized as the Most Outstanding Speaker award recipient for his 2024 presentation, "Making Grazing So Easy a Corn Grower Can Do It." 

Former Most Outstanding Speaker award recipients Jill Clapperton and Marion Calmer rounded out Thursday's general sessions with more thought-provoking presentations. 

"Without healthy soil, you have nothing...you have dirt. We want healthy soil," Clapperton said.

Arion, Iowa, no-tiller and XTremeAg founder Kelly Garrett took the stage Friday morning with a look at how to balance the soil and the plant for higher no-till yields and profits. A dream team of no-tillers — Allen Berry, Barry Fisher, Ray McCormick, Randall Reeder and Loran Steinlage — wrapped things up with an Innovators & Experts panel discussion about no-tilling in weather extremes. 

The 2026 National No-Tillage Conference will take place in St. Louis, Mo. Super Early Bird registration is currently underway.