NEARLY 1,000 farmers, agronomists and ag experts were on hand in January as the National No-Tillage Conference convened for the first time ever in Louisville.

The 26th annual event, held at the historic Galt House Hotel, attracted attendees from 32 states in what might have been the most diverse attendance in the conference’s history. International speakers and attendees from Canada, France and Israel were also part of the unofficial total attendance, pegged at 990. There were more than 300 first-time attendees as well.

No-Till Farmer rounded up some of the best ideas, tips and lessons shared from the 13 general sessions, 24 classrooms and two panels that were presented over the course of 4 days. The 2019 conference is slated for Jan. 8-11 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Watch the Bottom.

Marion Calmer says one of the most important tips he has for fine-tuning combine performance has to do with harvesting corn. When farmers see cobs in the grain tank, most will shut the bottom sieve, sometimes taking advice from the owner’s manual.

“What’s the first thing that does? It sends the cob on back through to be re-threshed. What upside could there possibly be in re-threshing the cob?” says the Alpha, Ill., no-tiller. “What we should do is pull the bottom sieve wide open and clean the grain tank with the top sieve. We really don’t need the bottom sieve in corn. Pull the bottom sieve wide open and let the air come on up to the top sieve.

“You’ll have…