The 2026 National Strip-Tillage Conference — Aug. 6-7 in Springfield, Ill. — will feature over 30 practical learning sessions with speakers from a dozen different states. 

The agenda is packed with 6 general sessions, 13 breakout classrooms, 14 interactive roundtables and 2 days of valuable networking. Several topics relating to successful strip-till systems will be covered, including residue management, fertility strategies, soil health and biology, cover crops, precision technology, water management, soil testing techniques, equipment setup tips and much more. 

“The networking is one of the things I love most about the Strip-Till Conference,” says Zack Smith, who strip-tills in Lake Mills, Iowa. “The farmers attending this conference are some of the most innovative folks you’re going to find. I encourage you to have conversations and sit down and talk with somebody you don’t know at lunch during the conference. Ask them what they’re doing or trying on their farm, have conversations and see where it goes.”

Smith, who’s been attending educational farm conferences for over 18 years, says many of the conversations he’s had over the years at the National Strip-Tillage Conference have influenced some of the biggest changes on his farm.

“These conferences are phenomenal and everything that I’m presenting here today is a result of coming to events like this and interacting with thoughtful growers who exist in this space,” Smith told attendees during his 2025 classroom presentation about intercropping and stock cropping. “I really don’t like going to anything else for ag conferences other than events…