Recent News
Celebrating Agriculture at the State Fair
Ag Day at the Illinois State Fair is an annual event bringing together the best and brightest in the Illinois farm and food sectors. This year’s celebration took place on August 16, kicking off with breakfast and awards program in the Orr Building on the Springfield fairgrounds. The Agriculture Breakfast celebrates agriculture as Illinois’ #1 industry and recognizes ag professionals...
ISAP Provides Technical Expertise at Soil Health Field Day
In August, ISAP members joined American Farmland Trust and Cargill, Inc. to host a Soil Health Field Day at Illinois Central College (ICC). The day-long event brought together over 75 farmers, retailers, local resource professionals, and conservation experts and featured the importance of soil health to a successful farming operation. A recent blog post by American Farmland Trust highlighted the...
Connecting Ag Tile Drainage to Conservation
Over the span of a week in late August, three ISAP partners – the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association (IL LICA), The Wetlands Initiative (TWI), and Pheasants Forever Quail Forever Illinois (PFQF) - collaborated with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to build two wetlands in northern Livingston County. Jill Kostel, The Wetlands Initiative (second...
ISAP Partners Offer Cover Crop Incentives
When properly managed, incorporating cover crops into a traditional crop rotation provides several benefits including reduction of nutrient loss, limited soil erosion, and improved water infiltration capability. Advancing the adoption of cover crops has been identified as a key strategy for Illinois agriculture to meet the goals established in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS). Members of the Illinois...
ISAP Hosts Myth-Busting Risk Management Webinar Series
Throughout the month of June, the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) brought together experts on cover crops, tile drainage, and economics to tackle common myths in conservation cropping systems. The series was well attended with over 120 individual attendees representing 17 states/provinces across North America. Farmers, ag advisers, Extension staff, and non-profit conservation advocates had the opportunity to learn how,...
Farmers Grow Rye to Advance Regenerative Agriculture and Support Kentucky Bourbon
When people think of Kentucky, many things may come to mind: horse racing and fancy hats, large buckets of fried chicken, or even Kentucky bourbon! Kentucky has a long and rich history of bourbon production, giving the state its claim to fame as the world’s bourbon capital. Bourbon is an agricultural product at its core, relying on high quality...