Careers in Agriculture: Conservation specialist provides boots on the ground

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Working one-on-one with farmers and seeing positive changes across the landscape is what drives Aidan Walton.

Walton has served farmers as a Precision Conservation Management specialist in the program’s north-central Illinois region since 2021.

He was drawn to agriculture early on and decided to pursue a career in the field.

“I didn’t grow up on a farm, but do have a small family farm in Macoupin County where I spent a lot of time,” he said.

“I knew I wanted to be in agriculture and Illinois State University has a great program from what I’d heard about. I didn’t really know where I wanted to go in agriculture. So, I thought agribusiness would be a pretty well-rounded place to start. I had a great education at ISU. I learned a lot at ISU in the agribusiness program.”

Walton is a two-time graduate of ISU, with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agribusiness.

Prior to joining the PCM team, Walton worked at Evergreen FS, where he began as a crop scout using drone technology to monitor plant emergence and health.

He then spent time under the supervision of various crop specialists assisting with plant operations.

“I became familiarized with some conservation practices around the FS plant, seeing cover crops and talking to some growers about that. I saw an opening at PCM and this opportunity come up right where I was located. So, it was a perfect fit,” he said.

“I’m in Bloomington and I cover seven counties. So, I’m right in the middle of my territory. I pretty much cover from Peoria to Gibson City, north to about Ottawa and south down to Lincoln.”

About PCM

PCM is the premier conservation program of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and Illinois Soybean Association. Initiated through funding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service — Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Working directly with farmers, the program combines precision technology and data management with farm business and financials to help farmers manage, adopt and adapt conservation practices long-term and improve on-farm decision-making.

PCM is a not-for-profit farmer service that was formed in 2016.

“We help farmers adopt in-field conservation practices while maintaining and maximizing their profitability,” Walton said.

“We have three main areas of emphasis — cover crops, reduced tillage and nitrogen management.

“We work with the farmers. I collect all of their field pass information. So, what does their fertilizer program, chemical program look like? Tillage passes, any cover crop applications, each and every pass across the field?

“Then we use data primarily from Illinois Farm Business Farm Management and research from the University of Illinois farmdoc, and we produce an annual report for each of our growers. The report looks at the economics of their practices.

“It’s very unique because we can compare our grower’s economics and profitability figures against other PCM growers in their county and in their region. It’s all kept anonymous.

“So, your next-door neighbor might be in the program and you might not necessarily know that. It’s a great way to see local and regional comparisons to see what practices are working the best in your area.”

There were 496 farmers enrolled in PCM in 2023 across Illinois, Kentucky and Nebraska covering nearly 500,000 acres.

Reaching Out

The process typically begins when a farmer with an interesting in program contacts PCM.

“We have a publication called ‘The Business Case for Conservation: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Conservation Practices’ that’s released in June each year that goes to a lot of mailboxes in the Midwest. So, I get a lot of calls from people reading that and reaching out to learn more,” Walton said.

“I also have a good relationship with all of the local NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation Districts. They help promote PCM and that leads to a lot of contacts, whether it’s growers who are already doing no-till and cover crops for instance or it’s someone who wants to maybe transition from conventional tillage and get into the conservation space. We work with everyone.”

The PCM website also features a “find your specialist” page with local contact information.

Walton currently works one-on-one with nearly 100 farmers across Ford, La Salle, Livingston, Logan, McLean, Tazwell and Woodford counties.

“Ideally, I meet with them face-to-face three, maybe four times a year. PCM will is not a huge time commitment for farmers. Three or four meetings a year for about an hour each. We try to not be too invasive of their time,” he said.

“I’m out in the fields scouting in the spring, checking in during the fall during harvest. We have some other cover crop trials programs and things like that where we’re soil testing and getting the data from the field for our growers. I’m out and about all of the time.”

Rewards

Walton was asked what’s his favorite part of the job.

“The great farmers that I work with. Everyone is fantastic and it’s more than just the numbers and just business, it’s making a relationship with them and really helping them to be more profitable and be more successful on the farm,” he said.

“It’s very rewarding. I’ve met a lot of great people. We’ve seen some wonderful changes across the landscape the last couple of years.

“We want everyone to be profitable, and I try to stay up-to-date on all of the different cost sharing incentives programs, all of the carbon market information that’s out there, and just try to stay on top of things to guide my growers in the right direction where they can get some assistance, where they can get a little help. I just try to be on top of all of that and guide people as I see fit.”