Recent News
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...
Cover Crop Toolbox: ICCON Features SmartMix Calculator
On December 11, 2024 ICCON welcomed Keith Berns, Co-owner and Sales Marketing Manager of Green Cover Seeds based in Bladen, NE. Keith shared the SmartMix Calculator, a unique and user-friendly tool which helps farmers and farm advisors develop cover crop seed mixes. Keith says the best way to bring additional diversity to a corn/soybean or corn/soybean/wheat rotation is to have...
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...
We are Living in the Future: Reflections on a Changing Climate
One of my favorite artists is John Prine, a notable country-folk musician who was born in Illinois and had an amazing way of writing lyrics that make you think. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the chorus of his song “Living in the Future.” “We are living in the future. I'll tell you how I know. I read it in the...
ISAP Kicks Off Soil Health Leadership Program with First Training Session
On August 20th and 21st, the first session of the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership Soil Health Leadership Program met in Peoria, IL at Illinois Central College. This two-day meeting included classroom instruction on principles of soil health and soil biology, as well as hands-on, in-field demonstrations on the Illinois Central College campus and on a nearby farm managed using regenerative...