Dean Markwardt, like 659 other no-tillers around the country, came to the seventh annual National No-Tillage Conference in St. Louis to reap the benefits of acclaimed speakers, network with accomplished no-tillers and participate in numerous no-till roundtables. Little did he know he would be the most envied no-tiller in the bunch.

When Henry Graw first thought about transforming his 1,400-acre farm to no-till after 20 years of conventional farming, the neighbors raised their eyebrows.

Modifying Equipment for specific regional needs seems to go without saying for no-tillers. While the dry, climate of Eastern Washington offers no-tillers a longer growing season, it also houses plenty of hills and requires specific planter needs and often irrigation.

Mike Linnehan had a problem. Fortunately, it was a problem that most other no-tillers would consider a kind of blessing. His farm in Sparta, Wis., was getting too big - and conventional tilling just wasn't cutting it anymore.

Every year it's the same story. No-tillers around the world gather their yield, management and tax reports to decipher what worked and what didn't.

When it comes to terms used to describe no-till farmers, “trial and error” has got to be pretty darn near the top of the list. And as far as no-till crop consultants are concerned, it's no different.

In the mid-1990s, Exira, Iowa, farmer Tom Muhr was thinking of narrowing his rows down from 30 to 20 inches. He had thought long and hard about the decision, mulling over the concerns he had about the re-emerging practice's popularity.

When it comes to the pros and cons of no-till planter attachments, you can certainly get plenty of opinions.

When previous National No-Tillage Conference attendees sign up for next January's annual event before seeing the lineup of topics and speakers, you know you've got a winning program.