2020 Nutrient Stewardship Virtual Field Days
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) Board of Directors considers environmental action to be an organizational priority, following through by continuing to commit significant resources to do the job. Since 2015 (through 2020), IFB has committed over $1.5 million to support implementation of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS).
The IFB Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program and Woodchip Bioreactor Partnership are examples of how IFB and county Farm Bureaus (CFBs) partner with other organizations to create lasting impacts in nutrient stewardship. Funding these projects allows agriculture to take an innovative approach to improving soil health and water quality.
Due to COVID-19, the decision was made to cancel all in-person nutrient stewardship field days in 2020. In place of in-person events, IFB worked to produce virtual field days to share the work of counties and their partners involved in the IFB Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program and Woodchip Bioreactor Partnership.
Henry County Farm Bureau: Woodchip bioreactor used to improve state's water quality
Progress in Illinois water quality stewardship is the priority for a five-year Woodchip Bioreactor Partnership between Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB), Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association (ILICA), Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the University of Illinois’ College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). During the ninth and final field day of 2020, the partnership broke ground on its third bioreactor installation, the second to be installed in Henry County, in keeping with its goal to install at least five woodchip bioreactors over the state beginning in 2017. Learn more about this collaborative effort in the booklet and videos below.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau
07:00: Katie Laleman, Henry County Farm Bureau Welcome
07:44: Brian Corkill Site background
09:16: Katie Gisi, Illinois NRCS Bioreactor design
11:56: Jason Hessman, NRCS NRCS' role in partnership
13:37: Ryan Arch, ILICA Bioreactor construction
16:57: Dr. Laura Christianson Water quality research
27:13: Ronnie Chacon, U of I Water sampling process
McHenry County Farm Bureau: Installing a woodchip bioreactor to improve water quality and nutrient retention
In the eighth virtual field day, John Henning, former vice president of the McHenry County Farm Bureau and current president of the McHenry County Conservation District Board of Trustees, discussed the installation of a woodchip bioreactor on conservation district property. The woodchip bioreactor provides valuable information about water quality and nutrient retention opportunities for farmers who use the technology. Partners from the McHenry County Farm Bureau, Illinois Farm Bureau, McHenry County Conservation District and University of Illinois Extension all play a role in the project. Learn more about this collaborative effort in the booklet and videos below.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau
7:10: Dan Volkers, manager, McHenry County Farm Bureau
9:12: Elizabeth Kessler, executive director, McHenry County Conservation District MCCD Mission, Partnerships, and Improving the Farm Program
11:00: John Henning, president, McHenry County Conservation District Board of Trustees, and former vice president, McHenry County Farm Bureau Farmer perspective of conservation practices
13:50: Gabe Powers, natural resources projects coordinator, McHenry County Conservation District Regulatory considerations for site selection and project permitting
20:37: Brad Woodson, natural resources manager, McHenry County Conservation District Site selection, planning and construction of the bioreactor
31:50: Dr. Laura Christianson, assistant professor, Department of Crop Sciences - Woodchip Bioreactor research and monitoring, University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences
Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau: Rainfall simulator and cover crop strip trials used to study soil health
In the seventh virtual field day, Greg Thoren discusses on-farm research and demonstration using a USDA-certified rainfall simulator and cover crop strip trials to study soil health. Partners from Illinois Farm Bureau, Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau, Stephenson Service Company, University of Wisconsin (UW)-Platteville, Jo Daviess Soil Health Coalition, Agnetic LLC and Soil Health Partnership all play a role in the research. Find more details in the booklet, then watch the field day coverage.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:16: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau IFB nutrient stewardship efforts
8:14: Greg Thoren, host farmer, Jo Daviess County Welcome and site background
25:41: Art Scheele, interpreter, Agnetic LLC Value of cover crops
37:06: John Musser, certified crop advisor, Stephenson Service Company Nitrogen research and plot details
47:34: University of Wisconsin-Platteville Research Team Soil health and water quality data on demonstration plot
1:09:42: Zack Lieb, student, University of Wisconsin-Platteville Thoren farm economics
1:12:18: Abigail Peterson, field manager, Soil Health Partnership Evaluating cover crops in 2019-2020
1:24:35: Jim Isermann, field manager, Soil Health Partnership Soil health partnership efforts
Wayne County Farm Bureau: NLID plot and fallow ground research helps reduce nutrient loss and improve soil health
In the sixth virtual field day, Wayne County farmer Fred Blessing joins researchers and agronomists to discuss a Nutrient Loss Inhibitor Demonstration (NLID) plot on his farm. The group also discusses additional research using cover crops and nutrient management to address fallow ground soil health concerns at the site. Partners from Illinois Farm Bureau, Wayne County Farm Bureau, Wabash Valley Service Company, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council all play a role in the research project. Find more details in the booklet, then watch the field day coverage.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau
06:19: Doug Anderson, manager, Wayne County Farm Bureau
07:46: Fred Blessing, Wayne County host farmer
08:54: Mike Wilson, president, Illinois Certified Crop Advisor Board, Wabash Valley Service Company
26:34: John Pike, agronomist, Pike Ag. LLC.
1:01: Julie Hewitt, executive director, Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council
1:19: Dr. Amir Sadeghpour, assistant professor, Southern Illinois University, Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems
St. Clair County Farm Bureau: FGD gypsum reduces phosphorus runoff and improves soil health
In the fifth virtual field day, St. Clair County farmer Paul Beisiegel and Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) researcher Karl Williard discuss the use of flue gas desulfurization gypsum to potentially improve water quality, soil structure and crop production in Illinois agriculture. Partners from the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council (NREC), Illinois Farm Bureau, St. Clair County Farm Bureau, SIUC, Wyciskalla Consulting and Boral North America all play a role in the research project. Find more details in this booklet, then watch the field day coverage.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau
7:00: Paul Beisiegel, host farmer and St. Clair County Farm Bureau president
8:19: Nancy Pals, gypsum marketing coordinator, Boral Resources Synthetic gypsum in agriculture
24:20: Terry Wyciskalla, independent crop adviser Synthetic gypsum in agriculture
56:13: Julie Hewitt, executive director, Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council
1:13:30: Dr. Karl Williard, Southern Illinois University Impacts of FGD Gypsum application on water quality and crop production in southern Illinois
1:49:40: Jennie Snyder and Dipty Poudel, Southern Illinois University Research in the field
Shelby County Farm Bureau: Drainage water management could help reduce nutrient runoff
In the fourth virtual field day, Stephen Anderson recently gave insights into his ongoing research project studying drainage water management and its potential to reduce nutrient runoff. Partners include Farm Bureau, Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council, and University of Illinois. Each play a role in studying Anderson’s Shelby County field plot. Find more details in the booklet below, then watch the field day coverage. Find more details in this booklet, then watch the field day coverage below.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau Overview
4:33: Madison McFadden, manager, Shelby County Farm Bureau Welcome
5:19: Julie Hewitt, NREC Research Support
22:34: Stephen Anderson, host farmer Project background
26:30: Dr. Rabin Bhattarai, University of Illinois Drainage water management research
35:16: Jacob Wood, University of Illinois
Clinton County Farm Bureau: Managing manure and cover crops to reduce nutrient losses
In the third virtual field day, Clinton County farmers Paul Meyer and Mark Litteken discuss research on their farms using manure to avoid commercial fertilizer applications and cover crops to reduce nutrient runoff. Partners from Clinton County Farm Bureau, Illinois Farm Bureau, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (College of Agricultural Sciences), Schuette Seeds, Sugar Creek Valley Farms LLC, Wyciskalla Consulting and Meyer VMS Dairy, Inc. all play a role in studying plots at Meyer VMS Dairy and Sugar Creek Valley Farms. Find more details in this booklet, then watch the field day coverage.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau
6:30: Ray Krausz, Clinton County Farm Bureau
8:05: Brad Conant, Clinton County Farm Bureau
9:49: Dr. Amir Sadeghpour, SIU (Part I)
15:50: Dr. Amir Sadeghpour, SIU (Part II)
33:38: Dr. Amir Sadeghpour, SIU (Part III)
36:42: Cliff Schuette & Paul Meyer, Schuette Seeds and host farmer
48:57: Justin Detmer & Mark Litteken, Midwest Tractor Sales andhost farmer
53:03: Bryan Pickering, Rantizo
55:54: Terry Wyciskalla, Certified Crop Advisor
1:06:05: Cliff Schuette & Mark Litteken, Schuette Seeds and host farmer
LaSalle County Farm Burea: Using struvite as an alternative to traditional phosphorus field applications
In the second virtual field day, David and Jim Isermann share research on their farm using struvite as an alternative to traditional phosphorus field applications. Partners from Farm Bureau, Isermann Farms, University of Illinois, Illinois NREC and Soil Health Partnership all play a role in studying the Isermanns’ LaSalle County plot. Find more details in the booklet below, then watch the field day coverage. Find more details in this booklet, then watch the field day coverage.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau, Director of Environmental Policy IFB Nutrient Stewardship Efforts
7:48: David Isermann, Isermann Farms and LaSalle County Farm Bureau president Welcome and introductions, site background
13:30: Julie Hewitt, Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council executive director NREC Research Support
30:43: Dr. Andrew Margenot, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences Phosphorus research in Illinois
32:40: Dr. Andrew Margenot, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences Slow Release Phosphorous for Illinois Production Agriculture
46:55: Neha Chatterjee, University of Illinois PhD student Struvite as an Alternative P Source for Mitigating Risk Loss
1:05:48:Dr. Andrew Margenot, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences Updating Phosphorus(P) Fertility Recommendations for Illinois.
1:37:24:Jim Isermann, northern Illinois and and Wisconsin field manager, Soil Health Partnership; Dr. Andrew Margenot, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences Soil Health Demonstration
1:48:12: Dr. Laura Christianson, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Woodchip Bioreactor Research and Monitoring
1:58:26: Dr. Reid Christianson, assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Augmented Reality Sand Table Demonstration
Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau: 2019 results from nitrogen strip field trial
In the first field day taking place across the state this summer, Jacob Baker recently presented results of his first year studying four different nitrogen sources at four different application rates. Partners from Farm Bureau, University of Illinois Extension, West Central FS and Yetter Manufacturing all play a role in studying Baker’s Warren County plot. Find more details in the booklet below, then watch the field day coverage. Find more details in this booklet, then watch the field day coverage.
Certified Crop Advisors can receive self-reported Continuing Education Units (CEUs) after watching the videos for each of these virtual field days. For more information, and to find the self-reporting form, visit www.certifiedcropadviser.org and click “Self-Report CEUs.”
- Learn more on FarmWeekNow.com
- Take a deeper look into the Field Day using this booklet.
Watch the full event |
Field Day highlights |
Table of Contents
00:15: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau director of environmental policy IFB nutrient stewardship work
5:48: Gina Long, Manager, Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau Welcome
7:17: Jacob Baker, host farmer and IFB Young Leader committee chair, Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau Site background and a farmer's perspective
16:20: Chelsea Harbach, University of Illinois Extension commercial ag Extension educator Research and statistical support
25:25: Sarah Le'Jeune, West Central FS precision technology specialist Using drones for nutrient management
31:36: Andy Thompson, Yetter Farm Equipment Strip-tillage equipment options
48:25: Dr. Andrew Margenot, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois Phosphorus research in Illinois