Recognizing the need for continued research, education, and outreach to further nutrient loss reduction goals, the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) will host four spring Nutrient Stewardship Field Days for farmers and industry partners to collaborate and discuss ongoing research and innovative approaches to nutrient stewardship including one in Montgomery County.
Hosted through IFB’s Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program, the upcoming spring Nutrient Stewardship Field Days will focus on cover crop management and highlight ongoing cover crop research in Greene, Montgomery, Washington, and Clinton counties. Additional field days across the state will take place later this summer.
Farmers, as well as those interested in learning more about agriculture’s role in protecting the environment, are invited to join IFB, its membership, and partnering organizations to learn more about past and current Illinois conservation practices and research.
Montgomery County Farm Bureau will be holding their sessions from 9 AM until 1 PM at 102 North Main Street in Hillsboro and Reynolds Farm at 20275 Irving Road in Nokomis.
Montgomery CFB is inviting farmers and community partners to tour local cover crop fields and learn more about cover crop best management practices and the Illinois NLRS. Speakers include IFB staff, NREC leaders, and representatives of industry partners such as American Farmland Trust (AFT), Progressive Agronomy Consulting, and Montgomery Soil and Water Conservation District.
The 2024 Nutrient Stewardship Field Days are funded through IFB’s Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program. The program, now in its ninth year, distributed $165,000 in 2024 to 25 CFBs that will collaborate on 18 projects to further Illinois water and soil conservation efforts.
The Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS), released by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 2015, is a guide for wastewater treatment plants and urban and agriculture stakeholders to reduce the loss of nitrate-nitrogen by 15% and total phosphorus by 25% into Illinois waterways by 2025. The eventual target is a 45% reduction in the loss of these nutrients to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.
For more information on upcoming field days or to browse past events, visit www.ilfb.org/FieldDays.
