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Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program

 

The Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) guides State’s efforts to improve water quality via the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus in our water ways. Since 2015, Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) has contributed to this effort through the Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program (NSGP). This grant program is available to all County Farm Bureaus (CFBs).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last decade, IFB has made environmental issues an organizational priority for the past decade, focusing on four priority areas:

  1. Education & Outreach for farmers, landowners, and the public.
  2. Support for research of BMPs to reduce nutrient loss from agricultural fields.
  3. Support for farmers implementation/adoption across the State.
  4. Contribute to long-term goals of the NLRS.

The Nutrient Stewardship Program has become a cornerstone to IFB’s work to implement the NLRS and encourage implementation of environmental Best Management Practices. This grant program is a unique program as it offers a grassroots approach to education, implementation, and research.

Under this grant program, CFBs are directly funded to create programs according to their local needs but within IFB’s priorities. Direct funding of local CFBs empowers local producers and agricultural communities to be engaged with solution-driven programming and development.

Nearly every county in the State has participated in the Nutrient Stewardship Program and approximately 1,365,000 dollars has been delivered for program funding (Figure 1). In 2025, 14 counties participated in the grant program and IFB committed approximately 200,000 dollars (Figure 2).

 

2026 Nutrient Stewardship Summer Field Days

 

Field Days

Topic

Date

Location

RSVP Deadline

RSVP Phone
Cook CFB Pollinator Awareness Week June 23 Lincoln Park Zoo NA 708.354.3276
Lee CFB Pollinator Retention Basin June 27 Niles Township June 19 815.857.3531
Knox CFB Knox County Cover Crop Project July 1 knoxcfb.org NA 309.342.2036
Jasper, Clark, Cumberland, Richland Southern Illinois Ag Bus Tour July 7 Participating CFB Locations June 30 Contact participating CFB
Washington CFB Cover crops and Carbon Sequestration July 25 TBD July 17 618.327.3081
Bureau CFB Farm-scale Tile Monitoring July 27 Walnut, IL July 19 815.875.6468
Will CFB Soil Health and Economics July 30 Joliet, IL July 30 815.727.4811
Jo Daviess CFB Animal Integration and Carbon Benchmark July 31 Stockton, IL July 24 815.858.2235
Caroll, Henry, Whiteside Bus Tour to Jo Daviess Field Day July 31 Varies July 24 Contact participating CFB
Clinton CFB Cover Crop Research Plots & Manure Management August 8 Breese, IL July 31 clintoncofb.org
Wayne CFB NLID Research on Variable Nutrients August 20 Fairfield, IL August 13 waynecfb.com/nlid
Cook CFB Vegetable Cropping and Struvite Research August TBD Chicago Heights, IL TBD 708.354.3276
Jo Daviess CFB Animal Integration, Carbon Benchmark, Season Conclusions September 11 Stockton, IL September 4 815.858.2235
LaSalle CFB Seminar: Research. Soil Health, and Economics September 11 Illinois Valley Community College September 4 815.433.0371
           

 

2026 Nutrient Stewardship Spring Field Days

Clinton CFB Field Day 1 Soil Summit with Ray Archuleta March 5 Breese, IL March 1 618.526.7235
Will CFB Field Day 1 Soil Health March 19 New Lennox March 19 815.727.4811
Montgomery CFB Field Day Best Management Practices March 21 Hillsboro, IL March 16 217.532.6171
Jo Daviess 1 Livestock  Integration April 3 Stockton, IL March 27 815.858.2235
Clinton CFB Field Day 2 Southern IL Regenerative Bus Tour  April 18 Clinton County April 10 618.526.7235
clintoncofb.org

Additional field day details coming soon!

Questions

Bena Pegg
Environmental Program Manager
Email: bpena@ilfb.org

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