Analysis of surveys from 789 attendees of the 18th Annual National No-Tillage Conference (held in Des Moines, Iowa) in January provide farm equipment dealers with insight into the no-till and strip-till market.

1. Investment in Equipment, Parts & Service. In 2009, the average attendee spent $93,819 on equipment, $17,653 on parts and $12,883 on service.

2. Shopping List for 2010. Planters & Accessories top the list for product research in 2010, as 67% will be looking for new innovations in this area. Others topping the list are Precision Farming & GPS (52%), Sprayers (22%), Drills & Accessories (17%), Vertical Tillage (14%), Strip-Tillage (11%) and Harvest Equipment (11%).

3. 2010 Plantings. Corn, soybeans and wheat are the most popular crops farmed by attendees. 37% plan to increase their wheat plantings in 2010, while 22% and 26% of growers expect to increase their corn and soybean acreages in 2010, respectively.

4. Average Acreage. The average conference attendee farmed 1,479 acres in 2009.

5. GPS & Precision Farming. Top technologies used by no-tillers and strip-tillers in 2010 are Field Mapping (67%), Yield Monitor Data Analysis (61%), Light bars (60%), Autosteer (50%) and Variable-Rate Fertilizing (44%).

6. Tillage Methods. No-tillage (59%) was the most widely practiced method by attendees, followed by reduced tillage (22%) and conventional tillage (19%). 78% of attendee’s land is considered pure no-tillage, 10% is strip-tillage, 6% is vertical tillage and 3% are zone-tillage and fluffing harrows, respectively.

7. Conservation Tillage Growth. Attendees say that strip-tillage and no-tillage acreage has grown 22% and 21%, respectively, in the last 2 years. About 75% of no-tillers and 50% of strip-tillers forecast acreage growth in their region in the next 3 years.

Additional information on the market will be available later this spring through the "2nd Annual No-Till Practices Survey," which examines yield and other benchmark data from America’s no-tillers.

About No-Till Farmer & National No-Tillage Conference: The National No-Tillage Conference, No-Till Farmer, Strip-Till Strategies and Conservation Tillage Guide are properties within Lessiter Publications Ag Division, which also publishes Farm Equipment and Rural Lifestyle Dealer.

For more information on the no-till and strip-tillage markets, and/or to register to receive the free email newsletters, visit the following web sites:

www.no-tillfarmer.com

www.striptillstrategies.com