Ada becomes the agricultural capital of Ohio March 3 and 4 as the Conservation Tillage Conference (CTC) takes place on the ONU campus.

It is the largest agriculture meeting in northwestern Ohio. Historically over 800 people attend each day of this two-day conference.  

The meeting and program are developed by The Ohio State University Extension Specialists along with agriculture and natural resources educators in local counties with assistance from local Soil and Water Conservation Districts and United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Farmers, consultants, industry representatives, government officials will meet each day to listen to university specialists, industry representatives, and producers discuss new products and ideas for agriculture.

Keynote speaker
Lee Briese, recipient of the International Certified Crop Advisor of the Year Award and an agronomic consultant for Centrol, Inc. of Twin Valley in Edgeley, ND will be the keynote speaker.  

The title of his presentation is Details Matter: Equipment, Soils, and Cover Crops.  In addition, Briese will present two other talks during the conference.

The rest of the conference will include over 60 speakers and a trade show that will have product displays and representatives from over 30 vendors.  

Four concurrent program sessions will occur each hour of the day from approximately 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The focus on the program is conservation including no-till, cover crops, and soil health.  However, the latest management practices for each major crop and new developments in precision agriculture are included in the program.

The popular “Corn University” and “Soybean School” have been replaced with the Crop Management and Precision Technology as a result of retirements of Extension Corn Specialists from the eastern Corn Belt.  

However, 10 researchers from seven Land Grant Universities will present during the Crop Management and Precision Technology program. 

Conference themes
Crop Management and Precision Technology topics on March 3 will focus on management practices to improve soil conditioning after last year’s adverse weather and the use of precision agriculture for application of nutrients and making agronomic decisions with sensors.

Topics for March 4 Crop Management and Precision Technology include repairing damaged soils, new Tri-State Fertilizer recommendations, nitrogen management research, latest production research for soybean and raising profitable wheat.

Other topics at the conference will be associated with manure such as nutrient management, regulations, and government programs. There will also be topics on hemp production and forage cover crops.

Water quality topics including phosphorus management, 2019 agriculture impact on Lake Erie, and a discussion on H2Ohio programs will be on the agenda in addition to those that focus on the success of no-till agriculture from the past 50 years. 

Traditional soil conservation topics will include cover crops, no-till, and soil health and cover crop management practices.