Field Notes
ISAP Releases NLRS Overview for Farmers and Farm Advisors
In 2015, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) released the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS). The strategy quantified nutrient loads from multiple sources and set aggressive reduction targets for the amounts of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and total phosphorus (TP) leaving the state. The strategy laid out best practices to achieve reductions, including interim reductions...
Using Citizen Science to Understand Cover Crop Performance in the Great Lakes Region
On November 9th, 2023, ICCON was joined by Etienne Sutton, a PhD candidate and National Institute of Food and Agriculture fellow from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Etienne shared her research on cover crop performance in the Great Lakes Region which used citizen science, participation by the public in the scientific process, to gather field data...
ISAP Publishes “Introduction to Soil Health Practices” for Illinois Farmers
Bloomington, Ill. –The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership has published a new resource for Illinois farmers and farm advisors which clearly communicates the role of soil health practices in addressing agronomic challenges and resource concerns. ISAP’s “Introduction to Soil Health Practices” identifies and explains the cause of several conditions that often lead to common resource or agronomic concerns for farmers, including...
Conservation Practices Play an Integral Role on Douglas County Farm
Tony Stierwalt farms about 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans with his dad, Bill, in Pesotum, Illinois using strip-till, no-till, and cover crops in his system. Tony is the fifth generation on both sides of his family to farm. Like many farm kids before him, Tony grew up helping out on the family farm wherever he could and participated in...