Trent Profit builds on years of smart, precise operational practices to take his family farm to the next level.

Intentionally or not, farmers who’ve taken up strip-tilling have already made a commitment to rebuilding soil health. According to Rawson, Ohio, soil health expert Frank Gibbs, by being a bit more deliberate, strip-tillers can magnify the impact of their conservation efforts in ways that will show up on their bottom line.

After adopting strip-till as a part of his soil health improvement strategy in 2015, Rock Creek, Minn., farmer Jon Stevens has worked to incorporate cover crops and cattle to bolster productivity on the family’s 700-acre operation.

In the 2020 cover crop benchmark study conducted by Strip-Till Farmer sister publication, Cover Crop Strategies, the data found that 42% of growers have only used cover crops for 5 years. Brandon Hunt, Herndon, Ky., is one of those newer cover crop adopters.

One critical key to confidence in a conservation tillage system investment includes proving out the economic benefits — or lack of economic penalties — for adopting those practices. Assigning dollar values to soil health improvements remains difficult.

The 7th annual National Strip-Tillage Conference (NSTC), held this summer, may have looked a little different than previous years’ events. But the idea-sharing and diversity of topics discussed during general sessions, classroom presentations and live roundtables embodied the annual experience attendees have come to expect. Here are 4 highlights from this year’s event.

For Canadian strip-tiller Mike Verdonck, weed pressure, erosion and a reliance on heavy herbicide and fertilizer applications are all symptoms of “sick” soil.

The phrase “change is constant” is an appropriate one to summarize the ever-evolving strip-till operation that Megan Wallendal and her husband, Eric, manage at Alsum Farms, in Grand Marsh, Wis.

Results of the 7th Annual Strip-Till Operational Practices Benchmark study, evaluating 2019 cropping practices, saw some subtle and more significant shifts in strip-till practices.