By Katie Holland, Emma Eldridge, Rachel Curry, and Nicole Haverback
On June 25th, Illinois farmers, landowners, and agriculture professionals gathered at the Knox County Farm Bureau building in Galesburg for “Cultivating Conversations: How and Why Farmers Implement Edge-of-Field Practices.” The event was co-hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) and Illinois Extension, featuring a presentation from Catherine DeLong of Iowa State University Extension.
The event kicked off with an Edge-of-Field (EOF) farmer panel discussion, facilitated by DeLong. The panel featured four Illinois farmers: Nathan Dinderman from Carroll County talking about buffer strips, Brian Corkill from Henry County talking about bioreactors, Brent Fowler from McDonough County talking about prairie/pollinator habitat, and Jim Fulton from Livingston County talking about constructed wetlands. The farmers shared their personal experiences with implementing various edge-of-field practices, discussing the challenges faced, economic and environmental impacts, and offering advice for new conservation adopters. Participants, ranging from landowners to farmers, had the opportunity to ask questions and engage with the panelists.
Farmers engaged in a lively Q&A session from participants discussing their various reasons to implement edge-of-field practices and the challenges that came along.
After the farmer panel discussion, Rachel Curry from University of Illinois Extension presented “The Role of EOF Practices in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.” Participants learned about the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) and its role in reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that leaves farms and enters local waterways, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Providing the audience with necessary background information on hypoxic zones, Curry emphasized the importance of implementing edge-of-field conservation practices (bioreactors, wetlands, saturated buffers, and buffers) to meet the NLRS goal of reducing total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads by 15% and 25% respectively by 2025.
The afternoon session, led by DeLong, focused on “Communicating the Benefits of EOF Practices.” DeLong highlighted that a lack of knowledge about EOF practices is a major challenge for adoption. She emphasized the importance of providing farmers with background information on how these practices are built, implemented, and managed, and why they benefit the environment, waterways, and farm fields. DeLong’s presentation specifically focused on saturated buffers, explaining the water control structure and the pollutant removal process.
DeLong assessed the audience’s knowledge before and after her talk, highlighting that misconceptions can hinder adoption of edge-of-field practices.
In addition to the presentations, exhibitors from across the state joined the resource fair to show off what their organizations have to offer the farming community and conservation professionals. Resource professionals included the Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC), Illinois Extension, Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA), Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP), Knox County Farm Bureau, Knox County Soil and Water Conservation District, North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), Precision Conservation Management (PCM), the Savanna Institute, Springfield Plastics, and The Wetlands Initiative (TWI).
Event participants were encouraged to explore the resource fair before the farmer panel, during lunch, and after the event concluded.
ISAP’s “Cultivating Conversations: How and Why Farmers Implement Edge-of-Field Practices” event was hosted with support from Midwest Dairy, Illinois Soybean Association, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. ISAP hosts Alphabet Soup gatherings to provide training and networking opportunities for agronomists, researchers, educators, conservation practitioners, and industry partners. Visit Alphabet Soup’s landing page to learn more about the program and access recaps to past trainings.
