IFB field days highlight best practices

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Farm Bureau is hosting Nutrient Stewardship Field Days this summer for farmers and industry partners to collaborate and discuss ongoing research and innovative approaches to nutrient stewardship.

“Nutrient Stewardship Field Days are a grassroots, community-driven effort to promote farming practices that help reduce nutrient runoff into our waterways,” said Bena Pegg, IFB environmental program manager.

“Each field day is unique, offering new insights and data that counties are gathering to help us better understand best management practices for effective nutrient use.”

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.

More information and downloadable flyers are available at ilfb.org/FieldDays. Each field day will have a flyer posted about one month prior to the event.

Summer field days and topics, with dates, hosting county Farm Bureau, approximate location and RSVP phone number, include:

• July 26 — Clinton County Farm Bureau: 9 a.m. to noon, Sugar Creek Valley Farms, 12555 Poettker Road, Aviston. This field day will highlight soil quality, cover crops, manure application and economic and yield data. Speakers will be Russell Hedrick, CFB President Mark Litteken, Cliff Schuette of the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition and Terry Wyciskalla of Wyciskalla Consulting. Lunch provided.

• July 29 — Bureau County Farm Bureau: 9 a.m. to noon, 29053 1500 East St., Walnut. Andrew Margenot, University of Illinois associate professor, and his team, in partnership with Practical Farmers of Iowa, will present findings from a 10-year tile drainage study covering 1,000 acres. The data includes nitrate and phosphorus trends across two major watersheds. RSVP by July 24 to 815-875-6468.

• July 30 — La Salle County Farm Bureau: 4 to 7 p.m., Isermann Farm, 1935 N. 12th Road, Streator. U of I researchers Andrew Margenot, Luke Bergschneider, Angela Kent and Sam Leskanich will present their latest developments in nutrient management, genetics and best management practices. Key topics will include legacy phosphorus, water quality monitoring, the NSave corn variety and innovative nutrient management techniques. This event aims to bridge scientific research with practical applications in the field. Dinner provided. RSVP by July 28 to 815-433-0371.

• Aug. 1 — Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau: 1 to 5 p.m., first driveway south of 4629 IL-78 S., Stockton. Greg Thoren, who manages a cattle and fenceless grazing system, will speak on the accessibility of the “e-shepherd” program, as well as his experience growing non-GMO corn, edamame soy and other grains. He will also discuss a new intercropping system with 60-inch row corn and forage cropping. Dinner provided. RSVP by July 26 to 815-858-2235.

• Aug. 7 — Will County Farm Bureau: 435 Goodenow Road, Beecher. This field day will feature visits to several farms across Will County with a focus on nutrient management practices. The day will begin at the home of Will CFB Foundation member Rita Ludtke, where guests will board a hayrack ride to tour the featured sites. U of I research assistant professor Connor Sible will discuss conservation strategies being implemented in each field. RSVP by July 31 to 815-727-4811.

• Aug. 14 — Cook County Farm Bureau: 3437 Sauk Trail, Chicago Heights. Cook CFB is partnering with U of I associate professor Andrew Margenot to study the use of struvite as a slow-release phosphorus fertilizer. The multiyear project investigates application rates of struvite on high-value crops and monitors soil and water quality to measure nitrogen and phosphorus losses compared to traditional fertilizers. The study will also evaluate the economic and yield benefits of struvite on specialty crop farms. RSVP by Aug. 7 to 708-354-3276.

• Aug. 19 — Marshall County Farm Bureau: Koehler Farm, 896 CR 1400 N, Henry. This field day will highlight a bioreactor installation at Ethan Koehler’s farm. Koehler is the newest participant in the Woodchip Bioreactor Partnership, a collaborative effort launched in 2017 by IFB, Land Improvement Contractors of America, U of I and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This year’s field day will feature a live demonstration of the bioreactor installation. RSVP by Aug. 12 to 309-364-2501.

• Aug. 21 — Wayne County Farm Bureau: 5 p.m., County Road 1220 N., Fairfield, three miles north of Fairfield on Enterprise Road, and left at NLID sign. This field day will focus on nutrient use efficiency. The project will highlight four variations of supplemental macronutrient applications over a baseline fertilizer, with multiple replications across the field. Presenters include Mike Wilson and Jay Tharp of Wabash Valley Service Company, John Pike of Pike Ag LLC and John Jones Jr. of the U of I. RSVP by Aug. 14 to 618-842-3342.

The 2025 Nutrient Stewardship Field Days are funded through IFB’s Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program. Since 2015, IFB has awarded a total of $1.35 million for more than 156 county Farm Bureau-led nutrient projects.

For a third year, IFB has distributed grants for farmer-focused programs and materials to support pollinators and Monarch butterflies.

The 2025 grant awards support 15 projects with 18 participating county Farm Bureaus and seven Pollinator Conservation projects with 10 participating county Farm Bureaus.