Innovators Advance the No-Till Industry

This year’s No-Till Innovator Award winners were recently honored for their contributions to the conservation-tillage industry.
No-Till Industry
Attendees at the No-Till Innovator Awards banquet celebrate the winners. Top row, left to right: Phil Krieg, Chuck Leonard and Derrick LeBeau with Syngenta; Monte Bottens and Michael Crowell, growers affiliated with the Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center (CASI); and Darrell Bruggink with No-Till Farmer magazine. Bottom row, left to right: Hans Kok, conservation expert; Annie Dee with Dee River Ranch; Gavin Porter with Cross Slot, USA; and Jeff Mitchell, University of California researcher affiliated with CASI.
By Raven Carpenter / Photography by Sarah Lynch
Now in its 22nd year, the 2017 No-Till Innovator Awards, sponsored by Syngenta and No-Till Farmer magazine, recently honored outstanding leaders of the conservation-tillage industry at the National No-Tillage Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The awards recognized winners in four categories for their commitment to no-till more effectively, more economically and with better impact on the environment. Their contributions have helped advance no-till farming, regardless of the crop grown or brand of equipment, seed, seed treatment or crop production products used.
#NoTillInnovatorAward winners honored for making an impact on the #notill industry. @SyngentaUS #NNTC

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The 2017 winners by category are as follows:

  • Dee River Ranch, a row crop and cattle operation in Alabama—Crop Production
  • Cross Slot, USA, a world-leading developer of no-tillage systems and machines—Business and Service
  • Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center, a collaboration of grower, academic, public agency, private sector and environmental group members who promote conservation cropping systems in California—Organization
  • Hans Kok, an independent conservation expert in Indiana—Research and Education
A committee of leaders representing different sectors of the no-till industry selected the winners. Judges were Darrell Bruggink, editor of No-Till Farmer; Darrell Daniels, agronomic service representative from Syngenta; Betsy Bower, agronomist at Ceres Solutions Cooperative in Indiana; and Allen Berry, grower and owner of Allin Farms in Illinois.

For more information on the upcoming 2018 competition, visit the No-Till Innovator Awards website.

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