On behalf of the directors, advisors, and executive secretary of the Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association, welcome to our 20th Anniversary Zero Tillage Workshop.

The Association has come a long way in the last 20 years. It all started with humble beginnings of fewer than 50 farmers attending the first workshop in Brandon at the Ag.Extension Centre. Today, our newsletters are mailed to 700 - 800 people, including 6 countries, with annual workshop attendance of 1200 - 1400 (depending on how particularly nasty Mother Nature is each year). As much as things have changed, though, we continually strive to keep our goals in line with the intent of the founding members.

Research has been and continues to be an important function for our existence as an association. Currently, efforts are being made to setup research foundations on both sides of the border. These foundations will enable corporations and other foundations to more easily fund zero-till, research. The benefit to you, as members of the association, is that there will hopefully be more dollars than are currently available, allowing different types of research to be done that weren't possible before. In the past year, we've introduced a second zero tillage production manual. Plans are also in the works to utilize the internet, which didn't even exist 20 years ago, to make zero till information available worldwide. Hopefully', these tools will greater enable you to access timely information to make key decisions, allowing you to operate more efficiently and sustainably.

The key to the effectiveness of this association is how well we all communicate. This workshop is one of the biggest opportunities

available to express your ideas and questions to fellow no-tillers, researchers, and machinery manufacturers. We're proud to say that there is no other place you can go to see such a concentration of no-till related equipment and product suppliers, Take advantage of the many opportunities available to you during the three days you're here. You can be a part of this. Share something that worked for you during a break over coffee, while viewing the exhibits, or during the Monday night rap sessions. Grill the speakers and panelists with your questions - that's 'what they are here for. Find out why product "x" is the "hottest thing on the market". Most importantly, we hope you come away from here with at least one new insight into how you can make zero-tillage work better on your farm.

Thank you for your attendance, and good luck to all of you.