www.herald-review.com
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2013
DECATUR, ILLINOIS
FARM PROGRESS 9
SOIL
Continued from Page 8
Herald & Review/Jim Bowling
Monticello area farmer Eric Miller addresses attendees next to strip till equipment at the start of the Tillage Conservation Day at George Riley’s wheat field near Monticello.
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Jones performs a residue count during a tillage demonstration.
resource conservationist. “It’s not the fault of the farmers,” Fisher said. “They don’t work on no-till like
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gets me yield, I’m going to do it.”
More regulations are needed, said Fisher, a retired Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District
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From left, Monticello farmer Destin Dasher, innovation agronomist Eric Beckett and soil conservationist Jamie Jones look at the back end of a tiller.
A recently launched statewide initiative, Keep It for the Crop, encourages farmers to improve nitrogen use practices. Research with a focus around seven targeted watersheds is funded by farmers, said Dan Schaefer, director of nutrient stewardship for the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices. “It’s important enough to put their skin in the game,” Schaefer said. “Farmers and fertilizer dealers are not always looked upon as good stewards of the environment. They’re out here learning this is what they can do.” In the process of keeping nitrogen from running off fields, Schaefer said the goal is to help farmers improve yields. Nutrients should ultimately make it into the crop as intended. The 2012 drought didn’t help, leaving nitrogen in the fields and possibly carried off by the spring rains, Schaefer said. Butch Fisher has been traveling the area in recent years with a rainfall simulator showing how soil is lost. Fisher estimates an inch of topsoil has been lost in the last 20 years, which is a concern as the chemicals carried with it make their way into water ways such as Lake Decatur.
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Businesses participating in the event included Central Illinois Ag, Heath’s Inc., Jennings Implement Co. and United Prairie. The Piatt County Soil and Water Conservation DisDETAILS trict The Illinois wants Council on Best farmers to Management make wise Practices choices launched its Keep and notice It for the Crop by the 2025 initiative amounts during the 2011 of crop Farm Progress residue Show in Decatur. that is left Work is focused on the in six priority field by watersheds the differthroughout the ent tillage state. The camimplepaign seeks to ments, educate the agrisaid cultural sector Jonah while researching Cooley, a ways to reduce resource nutrient losses conservaand enhance tionist. nutrient efficiency. The ultiMore information mate goal is available at is to save http://illinois the soils cbmp.org/. for generations to come, Cooley said. “It’s the most important thing you can possibly imagine,” Cooley said. “There are a lot of conventional tillers, and we hope to open their eye to it.” Little variations in equipment can make a difference to a farmer’s success as it affects soil tillage and crop residue, said Bradley Baer, a product specialist with Case IH. “We need every bushel we can get,” Baer said. “If it