Strip-Till Innovators Award Recipients

Thanks to all the past recipients of the Innovator Award.

Nominate an Innovator for 2025 Strip-Till Innovator Award

The Strip-Till Farmer Strip-Till Innovator video series is brought to you by Land Luvr.

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2024 Strip-Till Innovator: Chris Perkins

Every time Otwell, Ind., strip-tiller Chris Perkins breaks the 300-bushel barrier, a framed vintage DeKalb seed bag goes up on his office walls, showing the year, hybrid type and yield number. He’s running out of wall space. Five bags currently hang like retired jerseys in the rafters of a basketball arena, each representing a significant milestone and learning experience.

The Strip-Till Innovator series is sponsored by Montag Mfg., manufacturer of complete fertilizer systems, dry fertilizer metering systems, liquid fertilizer systems and auto-steer carts. Learn more information about Montag Mfg. here.

Watch the 2024 Strip-TIll Innovator Videos Read More About Chris Perkins

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2023 Strip-Till Innovator: Ryan and Melissa Shaw

Ryan and Melissa Shaw of Marlette, Mich., had their fair share of anxiety when going all in on strip-till in the fall of 2014. It was a major investment, and there was a sizable learning curve after a lifetime of conventional farming. 

Plus, there weren’t many strip-tillers in their area that they could turn to for advice. They soon found the answers to their most pressing questions in one place.

The Strip-Till Innovator series is sponsored by Montag Mfg., manufacturer of complete fertilizer systems, dry fertilizer metering systems, liquid fertilizer systems and auto-steer carts. Learn more information about Montag Mfg. here.

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2022 Strip-Till Innovator: Brian Ryberg

Brian Ryberg, the 2022 Strip-Till Innovator Award winner, teaches farmers across the U.S. about the benefits of strip-till and cover crops.

Using a combination of strip-till and cover crops, Brian Ryberg is changing the image of sugar beet farming in the U.S.

Ryberg, who farms about an hour and half west of Minneapolis in Buffalo Lake, Minn., was the first farmer to strip-till sugar beets in Minnesota, the nation’s largest sugar beet producer. His award-winning strip-till, cover crop and soil health practices — in addition to his commitment to educating other farmers about strip-till — make Ryberg a deserving winner of the 2022 Strip-Till Innovator Award.

The Strip-Till Innovator series is sponsored by Montag Mfg., manufacturer of complete fertilizer systems, dry fertilizer metering systems, liquid fertilizer systems and auto-steer carts. Learn more information about Montag Mfg. here.

Watch the 2022 Strip-TIll Innovator Videos Read More About Brian Ryberg

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2021 Strip-Till Innovator: Ben Pederson

Fostering an ethic of land stewardship while operating a profitable, efficient farming operation is a compelling mission, and one Ben Pederson has been following for the past decade. A third-generation farmer in Lake Mills, Iowa, Pederson and his dad, Gary, grow 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans about 6 miles south of the Minnesota border.

Pederson began strip-tilling in 2011, after his frustration with soil erosion and lost nutrients led him on a search for practices that would keep the soil in place, retain nutrients and reverse the degradation that he could see was inevitable under conventional practices. 

The Strip-Till Innovator series is sponsored by Montag Mfg., manufacturer of complete fertilizer systems, dry fertilizer metering systems, liquid fertilizer systems and auto-steer carts. Learn more information about Montag Mfg. here.

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2020 Strip-Till Innovators: Megan and Eric Wallendal

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. 

Through innovative experimentation, calculated risk-taking and a willingness to share both the successes and failures, the Wallendals view their strip-till system as an evolving laboratory rather than a stagnant cropping operation.

The Strip-Till Innovator series is sponsored by Montag Mfg., manufacturer of complete fertilizer systems, dry fertilizer metering systems, liquid fertilizer systems and auto-steer carts. Learn more information about Montag Mfg. here.

Watch the 2020 Strip-Till Innovator Videos Read More About Megan and Eric Wallendal

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2019 Strip-Till Innovators: David Legvold

The first-ever Strip-Till Innovator Awards was launched in 2019 to recognize individual growers in the U.S. and Canada who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of strip-till farming, regardless of the crop grown or brand of equipment, seed or crop protection products used. The winner of this inaugural award was Northfield, Minn., strip-tiller David Legvold. For Legvold, being a strip-till teacher and advocate for the practice is built on the willingness  to make mistakes and  learn from them.

The Strip-Till Innovator series is sponsored by Montag Mfg., manufacturer of complete fertilizer systems, dry fertilizer metering systems, liquid fertilizer systems and auto-steer carts. Learn more information about Montag Mfg. here.