The 2023 National No-Tillage Conference felt like a return to what most attendees had grown accustomed to before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

While the 2020 and 2021 conferences were still successful in helping no-tillers share innovative ideas with each other, this year’s event brought more than 850 people together in one place and felt like a much needed return to the National No-Tillage Conference’s mission to provide an industry-leading and insightful no-till education. 

The industry leaders who spoke at the 2023 conference included Gregg Sauder, Randy Dowdy, Marion Calmer, Ray Archuleta, Rob Saik, David Hula, Russell Hedrick and many others.

From intimate roundtable discussions to medium-sized classroom presentations all the way to the general sessions with hundreds of people in one ballroom, no-tillers from around the world educated each other and learned from those who do it best. 

Soil Health Imperatives

Ray Archuleta, a No-Till Innovator who many refer to as the “godfather of soil health,” gave a moving presentation to a full house about regenerative agriculture and the power of the plant. 

Archuleta stressed four key points throughout his presentation, starting with the “connectedness” of everything in the natural system. 

“Everything you do on the farm is connected, and the impact is incredible,” Archuleta says. 

POWER OF THE PLANT. No-Till Innovator Ray Archuleta addresses a packed crowd at one of the final general sessions of the 2023 National No-Tillage Conference. Michaela Paukner/No-TillFarmer

Archuleta stressed that the soil is alive, pointing out that it breathes, reproduces and runs on intelligent design…