On January 8, 2025 ICCON was joined by Natalie Kerr, STAR Coordinator for the state of Illinois, to learn about the STAR program and how and why farmers should consider enrolling their fields in the program. Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) was founded in 2017 by Steve Stierwalt and Joe Rothermel – both farmers from Champaign County, advocates for conservation, and served on the Champaign County SWCD Board of Directors. They were interested in providing a roadmap for fellow farmers to adopt conservation practices such as no-till, cover crops, nutrient management etc.
From its inception STAR has been a farmer focused program and continues to center farmers and their needs as STAR continues to expand.
From its inception STAR has been a farmer focused program. It emphasizes addressing local resource concerns by leveraging local research and local cropping system solutions. As the program has grown it has now expanded into a national non-profit program with several states signing on as affiliates to utilize the STAR framework to help farmers address local resource concerns.
So what does STAR look like for a farmer? The tool itself is simple and user friendly for farmers. The STAR field form is available for farmers to enter information about their management practices from crop year to crop year. The form is filled out for each field a farmer wishes to enroll. This information is then evaluated by the tool based on the scientific input from local experts to determine each field’s “STAR rating” of 1-5 stars. The better the conservation management, the higher the rating. STAR then goes a step further by showing the score report for each field and offering suggestions of ways a score could be improved. The STAR tool also provides connections to technical assistance experts who can help farmers adjust existing practices or implement a new practice on their field(s). For farmers who choose to, a free field sign is available to display at the field that indicates each field’s STAR score. These signs can serve as a way of recognizing the efforts of farmers and to help bring additional awareness of the program and practices to other farmers and the public.
The more a farmer implements different types of conservation management, the higher their STAR score. Farmers can adopt additional practices, attend workshops, and other activities to improve their score.
Farmers also have the opportunity to develop a customized conservation innovation plan that can help connect them with the technical assistance needed to help with conservation practices and financial assistance for certain practices when applicable.
Kerr walked through some of the interface of the online tool to give a glimpse of the farmer experience and how the tool functions. The interface is intuitive and simple to navigate.
To keep the tool useful and valuable for farmers and to maintain the program’s integrity, there is a field verification process farmers must adhere to. The process is simple, straightforward, and is carried out on fields that are randomly selected each year.
STAR is a great program that needs the input of farmers and agriculture advocates. The STAR team is always looking to improve the tool. They need your input and feedback about how the tool works and where and how it can be improved for a better user experience. So please take the time to make farmers aware of the tool and encourage them to enroll a field or two. STAR hopes to continue to expand and help farmers along this journey for many years to come.
Natalie Kerr’s full presentation can be viewed on ISAP’s YouTube channel. ICCON will continue our monthly webinars in February. Register for the upcoming ICCON call here. If you are interested in joining the Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network to learn about new research and hear from cover crop specialists across the Midwest, please join our google group by sending an email to hello@ilsustainableag.org.
