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PART 3: What we don’t know about payments to farmers
Part 3 of a 3-part ISAP series on biofuel carbon intensity for Illinois corn and soybean farmers By Bonnie McGill, Jean Brokish, and Ben Wiercinski (American Farmland Trust) This series of blog posts explains what is known and unknown regarding CI scores for corn and soybean farmers. This series pulls from our conversations with several experts, the latest government...
PART 2: What is known about CI scores and how farmers can get involved
Part 2 of a 3-part ISAP series on biofuel carbon intensity for Illinois corn and soybean farmers By Bonnie McGill, Jean Brokish, and Ben Wiercinski (American Farmland Trust) This series of blog posts explains what is known and unknown regarding CI scores for corn and soybean farmers. This series pulls from our conversations with several experts, the latest government...
PART 1: What is a CI score and why do corn and soybeans have different scores?
Part 1 of a 3-part ISAP series on biofuel carbon intensity for Illinois corn and soybean farmers By Bonnie McGill, Jean Brokish, and Ben Wiercinski (American Farmland Trust) Welcome to this series of blog posts explaining what is known and unknown regarding CI scores for corn and soybean farmers. This series pulls from our conversations with several experts, the...
An Introduction to Carbon Intensity Scoring
Estimated contributions to carbon intensity of corn (Image credit: Preston Brown, incite.ag) What is carbon intensity and what does it mean for crop producers in Illinois? This January 2026, the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership Science Committee was joined by Megan Dwyer, Director of Conservation and Nutrient Stewardship at the Illinois Corn Growers Association and Preston...
Reap What You Sow: Economics of Adopting Cover Crops
Contributions by: Casey Kula, Greg Goodwin, and Jean Brokish Cover crops have been suggested as a reliable tool to help the State of Illinois achieve goals identified in the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS). In addition to acting as a nutrient scavenger, cover crops reduce soil erosion and provide carbon through biomass and root exudates that contributes to overall soil...
ICCON Call Features ISAP’s FIND Tool
On November 13, 2024 ICCON welcomed Jean Brokish, Deputy Director of the Midwest Region at American Farmland Trust, to present on the Financial INcentives Database tool – The FIND tool created by the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership. The tool was created to address the complexity of identifying financial incentives available to farmers for implementing a wide range of practices. Many...