The 2022 Strip-Till Innovator Award program is sponsored by

For Brian Ryberg, seeing an obvious visual of how undisturbed soil produces better crops sparked a commitment to finding novel ways to farm.

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.

Ryberg, his wife and his four full-time employees farm 5,200 acres of corn, soybeans and sugar beets in four counties in the Buffalo Lake area. They’re raising about 3,000 acres of corn, 1,500 acres of soybeans and 725 acres of sugar beets in 2022. They also custom farm another 1,000-1,500 acres. 

Ryberg says they strip-till 80-90% of their total acres. The remaining acres are vertical-tilled ahead of soybeans. The conservation tillage methods are a far cry from the heavy tillage practices of most of his neighbors, but Ryberg believes he’s gained a lot of respect over the years for what he’s doing.

“I’ve had landowners who have recognized what we’re…