Recent News

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...

Partner Spotlight: The Wetlands Initiative

In honor of American Wetlands Month, ISAP is excited to introduce The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) as May’s Partner Spotlight. The Wetlands Initiative is a founding member of the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership and has been a leader in wetland restoration for over 25 years.   In addition to their ecosystem restoration work, TWI has become a national leader in the...

Partner Spotlight: University of Illinois Extension

Partner Spotlight: University of Illinois Extension University of Illinois Extension is the flagship outreach effort of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As part of the Land Grant system, the University of Illinois was established to provide educational opportunities and pioneer research while putting learning and discovery into practice. UI Extension is the university’s statewide network of educators, faculty experts,...

Partner Spotlight: Precision Conservation Management

Precision Conservation Management Welcomes New Director Precision Conservation Management (PCM) has hired Greg Goodwin to serve as their new Director.  Goodwin will direct and oversee the PCM program, which includes overseeing daily operations, business development, grant reporting, and budget analysis. PCM is a free service created by farmers for farmers that combines precision technology and data management with farm business...

Final Reflections and Lessons from Retailer Cover Crop Trial

In a previous ISAP blog post, we introduced a trial partnership between Illini FS and The Nature Conservancy, with funding from the Illinois Soybean Association. Using Illini FS cover crop drilling and Nu-tracker soil testing services, we implemented seven split-field cover crop trials. These plots were subjected to three rounds of soil and plant tissue testing to better educate retailers...