Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite times of the year, slightly edging out Christmas in my holiday power rankings. Family, food, football. It doesn’t get much better than that! And in between leftovers and rivalry games (Go Buckeyes!), Thanksgiving weekend also gives us time to unplug and reflect on everything we’re grateful for in our lives. Let’s get a head start — here are 5 things I’m grateful for in the world of strip-till.  

I’m grateful for… the National Strip-Tillage Conference

The Super Bowl of strip-till. 400-plus farmers, equipment manufacturers, agronomists, educators and innovators under one roof for 2 days of classrooms, general sessions, roundtables, networking and drinks at the hotel bar. It's a blast. Plus, the process of recruiting speakers kind of makes me feel like a college football coach trying to piece together his team for the upcoming season. Nick Saban would put together one heckuva strip-till program, I bet.

World corn yield champion — and 5-star speaker recruit — David Hula kicked off the 2024 conference in Madison, Wis., which featured attendees from all over the globe. Renan Pineda, an ag researcher from Honduras, asked Hula about in-season crop nutrition during the Q&A portion of his presentation.  

“We’re on the Chesapeake Bay, so we have to follow a strict nutrient management plan,” Hula told Pineda. “We put starter down with the planter, and then as soon as we can start sidedressing corn, we will. The reason I say as soon as we can is because we have small grains, soybeans, corn and only one sprayer. That sprayer is handling our herbicide applications and more. The sidedress applications usually come last because they aren’t the biggest focus.” 

We’re currently putting together next year’s conference, which takes place July 31-Aug. 1 in Iowa City. I’m grateful for our first batch of speaker commits: Mike Verdonck (Montreal, Quebec), Gary Zimmer (Middleton, Wis.), Jon Stevens (Rock Creek, Minn.), Jerry Hatfield (Ames, Iowa) and Mark Dobson (Donnellson, Iowa). Hope to see you there.

I’m grateful for… Strip-Till Innovators

Strip-Till Farmer launched the Innovator Awards program in 2019. Picking a recipient gets harder and harder for our judges each year as the nominations pile up. Previous recipients David Legvold (Northfield, Minn.), Eric and Megan Wallendal (Grand Marsh, Wis.), Ben Pederson (Lake Mills, Iowa), Brian Ryberg (Buffalo Lake, Minn.), Ryan and Melissa Shaw (Marlette, Mich.) and Chris Perkins (Otwell, Ind.) have been extremely gracious with their time and willingness to share every detail about their strip-till systems. If you get some free time this Thanksgiving weekend, read about their journeys here.

I’m grateful for… equipment companies   

I don’t want to name them all for fear of leaving someone out but thank you to all the companies who don’t tell me to take a hike when I stick a camera in their face on a 90-degree day in late August at the Farm Progress Show. Thanks for shining a light on the latest innovations, trends and breakthroughs that help our readers accomplish their goals. Also, thanks to all the companies who sponsor our content — Strip-Till Farmer and the National Strip-Tillage Conference wouldn’t exist without you. 

I’m grateful for…Leo Johnson

A strip-tiller once told me you learn more from your mistakes than successes. Imagine implementing a completely new system on your farm and letting everyone follow the speed bumps along the way. That’s pretty much what Janesville, Wis., farmer (and former CEO of Case IH dealer Johnson Tractor) Leo Johnson did, sharing what he learned from his first-year strip-tilling during a classroom session at the 2024 National Strip-Tillage Conference. Click here to watch the presentation.

We also tagged along as his son, Patrick, planted into the strips for the first time. As you can see in the video below, it didn’t go completely as planned, but they got the job done. Thank you, Leo, for providing an unfiltered look at the good, the bad and the ugly of a strip-till transition.

I’m grateful for…the readers!

Saving the best for last! Thank you for your ideas, comments, critiques and letting this city slicker know when he messed something up. You’re the reason we do what we do. As we begin to plan our content lineup for 2025, let me know what stories and topics you’d like to see in our magazines — email me at Nnewman@LessiterMedia.com. Happy Thanksgiving!