Farmers in the Macoupin Watershed area may apply for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds for technical and financial assistance to improve on-farm soil and water quality by implementing improvements such as drainage water management, bioreactors, saturated buffers, cover crops, nutrient management techniques and no-till systems.

The Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program, through their ILSoyAdvisor management platform, is offering a series of virtual learning experiences this winter. Mark your calendar and register for these events:

In 2017, NREC funded 49 N Rate Trials, the highest number of N rate trials in Illinois to date. This project also expanded into Southern Illinois; 12 of the trials were implemented in this underserved region and we also implemented trials in Western Illinois. IFCA identified the participating farmers and implemented the trials, and the UI evaluated the yield results at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 pound N rates in the field.

Illinois State Conservationist Ivan Dozier announced the U. S. Department of Agriculture- Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will offer funding for the following special Conservation Initiatives throughout the state: Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI), National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), and the Monarch Butterfly Project (Monarch). Producers who have agricultural, pasture, or forest land located in a defined initiative project area (see box below) can apply for assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Using EQIP’s technical and financial assistance, producers can install a variety of conservation practices that improve water quality, decrease soil erosion, and enhance wildlife habitat.

County Farm Bureaus and their partners will expand nutrient stewardship work, going below the surface in several cases, thanks to Illinois Farm Bureau Nutrient Stewardship Grants. IFB awarded its third round of Nutrient Stewardship Grants, totaling $100,000, for 18 projects to be implemented by 20 county Farm Bureaus and their partners around the state. “This year’s grants step up the level of engagement of farmer members,” said IFB Director Jeff Kirwan of Mercer County. Kirwan chairs the state Nutrient Education Research Council and served on the IFB grant selection committee. “Illinois farmers are taking ownership of the future of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. We are starting to design and develop projects that allow us to test new ideas. We are creating new ways to reduce losses on our own farms.”

The Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program, along with American Farmland Trust, Soil Health Partnership and dozens of other partners held a soil-health field day August 17, 2017, at the Bill Heyen farm near Gillespie, Ill., highlighting local efforts to reduce erosion and nutrient loss within the Upper Macoupin Creek Watershed, one of the state’s top three watersheds for phosphorus loss.

The basis for nitrogen rate recommendations in Illinois is the MRTN. Years ago, the system was more of a slogan and it went like this: “1.2 is the Most You Should Do.” This meant take an average of the last five years of corn yield (bushel/acre) on a field, add 5 percent and then multiply that number by 1.2 (the estimated pounds of N per acre it took to produce a bushel of corn) to come up with the recommended nitrogen rate.

The Fall of 2017 has been a testament to the impact of the 4Rs, particularly fall anhydrous ammonia as a nitrogen application. There is no regulation that dictates when fertilizer dealers and farmers can begin to fall-apply nitrogen, and there were plenty of days in mid-October when application could have started early.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IL EPA) rules for agricultural related pollution include specific provisions for applying manure, whether liquid or solid, to frozen, ice or snow-covered ground. Frozen ground is defined by the IL EPA as soil that is frozen anywhere between the first half inch to eight inches of soil as measured from the ground surface.

Looking for more information on nutrient utilization, fall fertilizer best practices and considerations for first-time cover crop adopters?