Illinois NLRS Program and Project Narratives

ISAP’s Advanced Conservation Drainage Training program focuses on practices such as saturated buffers, constructed wetlands, controlled drainage, and bioreactors to reduce nitrate‑nitrogen from tile drainage. The program provides classroom and hands‑on training to help make conservation drainage a standard part of tile installation and farm management, while building a professional network to support these practices. In 2019, in‑person trainings were held in central Illinois. In 2020, training shifted to a three‑part webinar series, with recordings available online.

The Illinois Corn Growers Precision Conservation Management team has been working with participating farmers in the 5-Year Soil Health Transition program to complete new enrollments and to prepare current participants for adapting to soil health management systems. Conservation specialists work with each farmer to evaluate the financial and logistical details of implementing new management practices. For more information, see www.precisionconservation.org

The Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association concluded its 4R Metric Survey – in reference to right source, right rate, right time, and right place nutrient management practices – in the summer of 2022. A questionnaire was sent to agricultural retail members with questions regarding varying nitrogen and phosphorus agricultural practices for fall and spring. Beginning with the fall of 2018 and concluding after the spring of 2022, the survey spanned four growing seasons.  

The Illinois Farm Bureau and GROWMARK continue to collaborate on the 4R4U program to demonstrate and investigate 4R nutrient stewardship practices at the local level. This statewide partnership, which includes County Farm Bureaus and FS Companies, aims to bring awareness to nutrient stewardship through the 4R approach: right source, right rate, right time, and right place (www.4r4u.com/). Local test plots are used to compare the effects of a range of practices on nutrient stewardship. Each of the 11 local partnerships depends on the cooperation and innovation of farmers and agricultural retailers. Practices include nitrogen-rates, multiple nitrogen applications, stabilizers, no-till planting, cover crops, soil samples, and a new approach—saturated buffers.