Recent News

ICCON Summer Series Kicks Off With Discussion on Mixes Following Wheat

On June 14, 2023 ICCON kicked off our four-part summer series, Cover Crop Cocktails. The series will feature information on how to design cover crop mixes to address specific goals, including improving pollinator and wildlife habitat, addressing specific field concerns, and taking advantage of the summer window following wheat harvest. For the first session in the series, ICCON was joined...

ISAP Partners Offer Policy Updates to Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network

On April 12th ICCON was joined by Corey Lacey, Public Policy Manager with the Illinois Soybean Association (ILSA), and Dylan Cook, Midwest Policy Manager with American Farmland Trust (AFT), to discuss policy movement surrounding cover crops and agriculture conservation methods. Corey Lacey focuses his time advocating for Illinois soybean farmers on conservation and environmental policy issues, and Dylan Cook works...

Central Illinois Farmers Share Cover Crop Termination Techniques

During ICCON’s March cover crop call, the Network hosted a panel of cover crop farmers who shared their strategies for cover crop termination and how covers are used as a management tool for their cash crops. Three Central Illinois farmers – Jim Isermann, Pete Fandel, and Frank Rademacher – gave an overview of their operations, presenting three models for how...

Berseem Clover Provides Cover Benefits and Forage Opportunities

On February 8th, the Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network (ICCON) was joined by Dr. Kim Cassida, Extension Specialist for Forages and Cover Crops for Michigan State University to discuss Berseem clover. This was the final call in ICCON’s winter series focused on New and Emerging Cover Crops. Dr. Cassida shared her knowledge of Berseem clover based on her research trials...

Maximizing Camelina’s Potential as an Overwintering Cover Crop

The Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network (ICCON) continued their four-part winter series exploring new and emerging cover crops in January with a presentation on Camelina.  This month, Dr. Joel Gruver, Associate Professor of Soil Science and Sustainable Ag at Western Illinois University, joined ICCON’s monthly cover crop call to share his experience growing Camelina as a cover crop on WIU’s...

Illinois Researchers Develop CoverCress to Meet Sustainable Aviation Fuel Goals

The Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network (ICCON) continued their four-part winter series exploring new and emerging cover crops in December. ICCON was joined by Dr. Win Phippen, Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Western Illinois University (WIU), who gave an overview of how the engineered CoverCress plant can be integrated into a corn – soybean system. In 2019, researchers at...