Four days of intensive learning awaits no-tillers when the National No-Tillage Conference holds its 18th annual meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, from Jan. 13 to 16, 2010.

The just-completed conference program, now available on No-Till Farmer, includes 38 speakers from North America and offers the best no-till management practices and ideas to help no-tillers improve their bottom line. Speakers include no-tillers, agronomists and university experts on topics from fertility management, precision ag, soil quality, equipment modifications, cover crops and much more designed to push up yields with less cost.

With “A Powerful New Decade For No-Till” as its theme, the National No-Tillage Conference program includes 23 general session presentations, 15 classrooms and 60 roundtables. Following is a sample of topics and speakers lined up to present nearly 100 hours of in-depth no-till learning at the Marriott in downtown Des Moines.

  • “Finding Solutions To Future No-Till Constraints,” from Dwayne Beck, manager of the Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, S.D., will help no-tillers identify the coming challenges to no-till and how to overcome those obstacles.
  • “No-Till Cover Crops” — Steve Groff, a Holtwood, Pa., no-tiller; Dale Mutch, a Michigan State educator and member of the Midwest Cover Crops Council; and David Brandt, a Carroll, Ohio, no-tiller will head up a three-presentation session on cover crop management on Wednesday evening, Jan. 13.
  • “Tried-And-True No-Till Planter Tune-Up Tips,” by Kevin Kimberley, a no-till equipment consultant from Maxwell, Iowa.
  • “The Role Of No-Till In Helping To Feed The World,” by Howard Buffett, a 1,600-acre central Illinois no-tiller and head of the HGB Foundation.
  • “A System Approach To Reaching ‘300-100’ Corn-Soybean No-Till Yields,” by Stockton, Iowa, no-tiller Keith Schlapkohl.
  • “There’s More To No-Till Fertility Than Just N, P And K,” from Ray Ward, a renowned soil fertility expert from Kearney, Neb.
  • “X Marks The Spot — Using Precision To Increase Profitability,” by Clay Mitchell, a no-tiller and strip-tiller from Buckingham, Iowa.

Darrell Bruggink, executive editor and publisher of No-Till Farmer, which organizes the annual event, says both experienced no-tillers and farmers considering adopting no-tillage practices will get dozens of practical tips and be challenged to improve their no-till system.

“With grain prices having softened and some input costs still challenging profitability, growers more than ever need no-till to compete,” Bruggink says. “This event really empowers no-tillers and gives them a can-do attitude to start a new production season.”

The final 12-page program can be viewed at www.no-tillfarmer.com/nntc. Registration is just $249 per person, with a special $219 rate for additional farm or family members.

The National No-Tillage Conference is sponsored by No-Till Farmer, as well as 12 industry-leading companies, including Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers, Agrotain International, Bayer CropScience, Case IH, Equipment Technologies, Great Plains Manufacturing, Oregon Ryegrass Commission, Specialty Fertilizer Products, Syngenta Crop Protection, Thurston Manufacturing, Titan International and Trimble Navigation.