Mark Badertscher of the Hardin County extension office calls it the largest conference of its kind in the Midwest.

It's happening in Ada on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 5-6, as the annual tillage and conservation conference comes to Ohio Northern University. During the conference, figuratively speaking, ONU changes its name to Corn University.

Badertscher expects 800 to 900 persons in attendance.

The conference will feature about 75 speakers on a wide range of topics. Here are a few highlights.

• Bob Nielsen, Purdue University, returns and speaks about on-farm research.

• Nutrient Management is a topic to be covered by 11 speakers. A water quality session includes results of several research projects.

• Soil health and cover crops session feature NRCS Soil Health specialists.

• In addition to Bob Nielsen, Corn University includes Kurt Steinke of Michigan State and Emerson Nafziger, Illinois.

General Session
Christine Jones, conference keynote speaker, is a soil ecologist from Australia. Her topic is “Building new topsoil through the Liquid Carbon Pathway for long term Productivity and Profit.”

She will also speak on “Quorum sensing in the soil microbiome.”

Other sessions focus on cover crops, no-till and soil health, nutrient management, Corn University, and precision ag and digital technologies.

The complete schedule, registration details, and list of local accommodations are available online by clicking here. The early registration cost is only $85 (or $65 for one day) until Feb. 21. CCA credits and CLM credits are also listed.