The Illinois Farm Bureau Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program was established in 2015 with the guidance and support of the Illinois Agricultural Association Board of Directors. The program was developed with the goals of Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy in mind, providing County Farm Bureaus and IFB members with several avenues of support to initiate locally-led projects to address nutrient loss, water quality, and soil health.
Since 2015, the IAA Board of Directors has committed more than $1 million to the program, with $150,000 being committed to the 2021 and 2022 program years. Countless additional support is brought to projects in the form of in-kind and matching support from CFBs and other partners. Through this program, IFB serves as an active partner on all projects, bolstering CFBs and their external partners to develop projects that address farmer needs for research, education and outreach, support to implement best management practices for nutrient loss reduction, and success in documenting their progress.
To date, funds have been awarded to 138 projects across 74 Illinois counties. The projects developed through the program often vary depending on local farmer interest. For example, funding may be used to support meetings and educational seminars or may be used to initiate multi-year data collection and analysis projects. Project partners often prioritize practices featured in the Illinois NLRS, ranging from in-field practices like nitrogen management and cover crops, to edge-of-field practices like woodchip bioreactors and saturated buffers.
Through work in the program, as well as other efforts, IFB is also able to support several research initiatives across the state. For example, connecting farmers with researchers to develop on-farm research trials, providing researchers with opportunities for outreach to farmer audiences, creating research publications, and more. Topics of this research have ranged from monitoring several woodchip bioreactors and saturated buffers, implementing cover crop test plots, conducting several types of water and soil testing, and other areas of water quality and soil health.
In 2021, $150,000 was awarded to 28 CFBs working together on 21 projects across the state. Project partners included private consultants, community colleges, university staff, wastewater treatment facility staff, drinking water supply staff, and many others. These projects ranged from hosting “hybrid” Nutrient Stewardship Field Days and other education events, supporting regional watershed planning, implementing cover crop test plots, conducting water quality and soil health testing, and developing research publications. An overview of all projects is included in Table 1.
2022 marked the seventh year of the program, with $150,000 being awarded to 25 CFBs working together on 21 projects. Projects in the program once again involved numerous project partners who supported a wide range of projects centered on the priorities of the NLRS. Projects in 2022 ranged from engaging in watershed planning efforts, developing on-farm research and demonstration projects, supporting several water quality improvement projects, hosting Nutrient Stewardship Field Days, and evaluating several nitrogen management practices. An overview of all projects is included in Table 2.
For more information, see www.ilfb.org/FieldDays.
Table 1. 2021 Nutrient Stewardship Grant Projects Overview
CFB(s): | Project overview: | Project reach, impact, or deliverables, where applicable: |
Bureau | Collected water samples and other data points. Analyzed results and developed a model based on past data. | N/A |
Clinton | Supported a multi-year livestock nutrient management and cover crop project, including multiple education and outreach opportunities, soil health and forage quality testing, and supporting research. | - Spring virtual field day reach = 275
- Summer field day reach = 145
- Data booklet shared with 1,200 producers
- Livestock nutrient management information shared with 1,200 producers
|
Coles, Richland, and Lawrence | Hosted two field days in subwatersheds in the Embarras River Watershed (i.e. the Slough, and Polecat Creek). Field days focused on watershed planning topics. | - Spring field day reach (Slough) = 250
- Summer field day reach (Polecat Creek) = 100
|
Cook | Brought producers to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) for a meeting focused on areas where the groups could partner. | N/A |
Fulton | Hosted a field day in collaboration with MWRD and other partners. | |
Hancock, Mercer, Warren-Henderson, Henry, and Knox | Hosted five watershed planning meetings in the Mississippi North Central watershed. | - Watershed meetings reach = 60
|
Henry and Rock Island | Hosted outreach event focused on several ag-conservation practices. | |
Jefferson and Franklin | Hosted a cover crop field day in partnership with Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). | |
Jo Daviess | Hosted outreach events focused on cover crop, nitrogen management, and surface water runoff research taking place. | |
Knox | Offered cover crop program, with 20-acre cover crop plots across 20 townships. | N/A |
LaSalle | Hosted elected official outreach event, including nutrient loss reduction topics. | |
Macon | Hosted Lake Decatur watershed field day focused on water quality and conservation. | |
Marshall-Putnam | Hosted cover crop field day and shared cover crop analysis tools with producers. | |
Mason, Cass-Morgan, and Tazewell | Collected water quality data and continued a multifaceted monitoring project. | N/A |
McHenry | Hosted a woodchip bioreactor field day and continued collecting water samples. | |
Sangamon | Hosted a cover crop field day and shared information about Lake Springfield watershed planning efforts and programs. | |
Stephenson and Carroll | Hosted educational meeting, covering many ag conservation practices. | |
Warren-Henderson | Hosted nitrogen management field day. | |
Washington | Developed cover crop plots and started collecting data. | N/A |
Wayne | Hosted nitrogen management field day. | - Field day reach = 55
- Data booklet shared with 100 producers
|
*Note: 2021 field day reach included in-person and virtual participation.
Table 2. 2022 Nutrient Stewardship Grant Projects Overview
CFB(s): | Project Overview: | Project reach/impact, where applicable: |
Bureau | Collected water samples and other data points. Distributed fact sheet. | N/A |
Clinton | Supported a multi-year livestock nutrient management and cover crop project, including multiple outreach opportunities, soil health and forage quality testing, and supporting research. | - Field day reach = 50
- Livestock nutrient management information shared with 1,200 producers
|
Cook | Brought producers to MWRD and initiated a struvite study in the county. | N/A |
Fulton | Hosted a field day in collaboration with MWRD and other partners. | |
Greene and Calhoun | Initiated a cover crop demonstration project. | N/A |
Jo Daviess | Hosted outreach events focused on cover crop, nitrogen management, and surface water runoff research taking place. | |
Knox | Offered cover crop program, with 20-acre cover crop plots across 20 townships and hosted a field day. | |
Lake | Initiated a lake improvement project and hosted a field day. | |
LaSalle | Hosted elected official outreach event, including nutrient loss reduction topics. | |
Marshall-Putnam | Hosted cover crop field day and shared soil health information with producers. | |
McDonough | Hosted a woodchip bioreactor field day. | |
McHenry | Continued water sampling at woodchip bioreactor and developed fact sheet. | N/A |
McLean | Hosted a field day focused on practices that can meet Lake Bloomington watershed goals. | |
Mercer and Knox | Hosted watershed planning meetings. | |
Piatt and Macon | Hosted a Lake Decatur watershed field day. | |
Shelby | Hosted a drainage water management field day. | |
Tazewell, Cass-Morgan, and Mason | Collected water quality data and continued a multifaceted monitoring project. | N/A |
Warren-Henderson | Continued to host nitrogen strip trial. | N/A |
Washington | Hosted a cover crop field day. | |
Wayne | Hosted nitrogen management field day. | - Field day reach = 60
- Data booklet shared with 100 producers
|
