The Strip-Till Farmer Origin Story

Editor's note: the following is an excerpt from "From Maverick to Mainstream: A History of No-Till Farming." 

I don't recall when we wrote our first No-Till Farmer article on strip-tilling, but it was soon after Cliff Roberts first used this no-till spin-off on his Kentland, Ind., farm in 1987. We've followed with dozens of strip-till articles in No-Till Farmer over the past 3 decades and also had Roberts share his first strip-tilling experiences at the first National No-Tillage Conference in 1993. 

In 2007, we'd estimated there were 3.6 million acres of corn being strip-tilled in the U.S. As strip-till gained momentum, we saw a need for carving out more extensive learning opportunities for strip-tillers in addition to the coverage in No-Till Farmer and the National No-Tillage Conference. Here's how our ag publishing company has served the growing strip-till market:

2010: Launched Strip-Till Strategies electronic newsletter that has evolved over the years into a daily electronic strip-till update, a podcast series, special reports on specific strip-till topics and webinars.

2014: Launched the mid-summer National Strip-Tillage Conference that offers a unique farmer-to-farmer learning experience.

2017: Launched Strip-Till Farmer as a print magazine. I'm sure there's much more to come as we continue to develop new educational opportunities for growers as the strip-till acres continue to expand.