Field Notes
Saddle Butte Discusses Cover Crop Techniques and Takeaways
On February 12th Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network was joined by TJ Kartes of Saddle Butte Ag. TJ is a seed sales representative who covers southern Minnesota, Iowa, and parts of Illinois and Missouri. TJ discussed trends he has observed with customers who are having considerable success with cover cropping and shared basic cover crop recipes and strategies that are...
Henry County Farmer Installs Woodchip Bioreactors to Maximize Conservation Impact
https://youtu.be/NppasqX5o98 “Conservation has always been a part of what my family's done, so that's kind of always been part of my DNA,” shares Brian Corkill who grows corn and soybeans on 1,000 acres near Galva, Illinois. Brian’s family moved away from the moldboard plow in the late 1970s and began no-tilling in the early eighties. “So now I'm trying...
Cover Crop Toolbox: ICCON Features STAR Tool
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,...
Final Reflections and Lessons from Retailer Cover Crop Trials
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...