ISA establishes Agronomy Farm

HEYWORTH, Ill. — Work at a new research farm dedicated to advancing the Illinois Soybean Association’s farmer-focused efforts was featured at a media event on Aug. 25.

The ISA Agronomy Farm includes about 98 acres of tillable land just off of Route 51, south of Heyworth, featuring soybeans, corn, wheat with double-drop soybeans, multiple cover crops, and a pollinator plot in its first growing season.

“It’s a dedicated farmer-led research and demonstration site, created to produce actionable data that form public policy, to showcase the innovation happening right here in Illinois agriculture. What you see today represents far more than just test plots. This farm is a platform for research, demonstration, education and profitability,” said Ron Kindred, of Atlanta, ISA board District 9 director and immediate past president.

“It’s a tangible example of how soybean checkoff dollars are being reinvested to support our farmers and advanced Illinois soy for generations to come.

“The ISA Agronomy Farm represents a strategic investment designed to directly benefit Illinois soybean farmers. Through farmer-driven innovation, strategic demonstrations, it will cultivate enduring value for Illinois soybeans.

“The farm is helping address critical gaps in agricultural research by providing relevant, unbiased and practical insights driven by farmer feedback. Maintained by our agronomy team and our partners, this nearly 98-acre site is some of the best farmland in the world and is fully dedicated to solving production challenges unique to Illinois soy farmers.”

For many years, University of Illinois Extension provided a source of providing valuable unbiased research. However, budget cuts have reduced those capabilities.

“We don’t have all these plots that the Extension used to have around Illinois. We’ve tried to fill that with our agronomy team. They’ve got like 17 plots throughout the state of Illinois and are always looking at doing a few more, but this one here is much more manageable because it’s so close,” Kindred said.

“As you look around the field, you’ll see a wide range of plots, soybeans, corn and wheat to double-crop systems, cover crops and more. Each is tied to an active checkoff-funded research project focused on either conservation practices, pest management, or agronomy.

“That point was very important as we looked at the vision for this farm and talked about whether we wanted to invest in this farm as a board or not. And the vision was that each would get tied to an active checkoff-funded research project.

“The decline an independent ag research, much of which was shifted to corporations, has made it harder for farmers to trust the results that now can be perceived as biased. This farm is our answer to that. Here, ISA prioritize research questions directly from farmer feedback and surveys, ensuring the work on real-world challenges.”

Rather than the typical small plots, the Agronomy Farm will include trials on plots of 10 acres or larger, making the results more relatable and applicable for farmers making decisions on their own farms.

“Because this land is owned, ISA can invest in long-term testing and infrastructure such as multi-year studies, tiling, or drainage,” Kindred said.

Showcase

Beyond its role as a research site, the farm will also provide a platform for education, outreach and collaboration.

“It’s a place where we can bring farmers, legislators, researchers, industry leaders, foreign buyers, students and media together. It’s centrally located between Chicago and Springfield, which makes it ideal for hosting state legislators and staff, and it provides a controlled space to demonstrate policy-relevant topics like cover crop benefits and pesticide use,” Kindred said.

“For foreign buyers, the Agronomy Farm offers a unique glimpse of Illinois agriculture, including our soil, climate and technology.

“It’s also one of the only places you’ll find all types of agriculture in the state represented in one place, from pollinator habitats and year-round covered crops to corn, wheat and soybeans.

“Through our work with international buyers, the farm contributes to market development, seeing soybean production in action right here in Illinois often leads to greater purchasing confidence, larger contracts and long-term partnerships. It helps strengthen relationships that ultimately support higher prices and stronger markets for Illinois soybeans.”

On the government relation side, the farm provides a model for how legislation and regulation impact agriculture. It’s a tool for helping the lawmakers understand what’s at stake and what’s working.

This hands-on education can help safeguard the tools and technologies that farmers need to operate efficiently and sustainably.

The ultimate goal of these efforts is profitability for farmers.

“Everything we do here is about helping farmers improve return on investment. Agronomic data from this farm will inform decisions about nutrient rates, tile management and best practices that improve yields and efficiency,” Kindred said.

“It also serves as the cost-effective centralized complement to university and private research efforts, maximizing value for checkoff investments.”

Production Committee Designed

ISA’s Production Committee will determine the future design of the research plots each year.

The initial season features corn on the north end of the field, a soybean research plot and a double-crop soybean plot.

The wheat was harvested July 5, and soybeans were planted very soon after. Those plots will be rotated each year.

“The next phase is continuing a cover crop demonstration plot. There’s also an area that will be divided into larger plots, but something that can be easily demonstrated, for example, doing continuous soybeans, doing something like a soil health plot that is continuous in one system,” said Abigail Peterson, ISA director of agronomy.

“It really makes a difference when you have those comparative measures that don’t change and the variables can be controlled and we can make some observations that can be impactful to how we farm.

“The plots will be divided up and our committee will decide what they want to see from either the research that we’re doing or something that they’ve always wanted to try on their farm.”

Research Partners

Partners at the opening of the farm included Dan Schaefer, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association nutrient stewardship director; Eliana Monteverde, U of I researcher; Zach Stephenson and Hunter Anderson, farm bill biologists with Pheasants Forever, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Jim Isermann, independent agronomist and conservation specialist.

“With these partners, we really value their educational needs,” Peterson said. “So, looking into when they have meetings, students and groups asking for demonstrations, how can we better strengthen their organizations and their partnerships with us to build a good program together?

“The exciting part is to have some ideas come to life and really structure what is ever changing in the ag space to be able to provide it here on the plots.”

Purchase Agreement

ISA purchased the field from a local trust.

“The trust was interested in selling the ground and doing a 1031 exchange. We worked with them, and whenever they could find some land that they wanted to invest in on their exchange, then that’s when it was a go,” Kindred said.

“They had agreed to sell it to us pending when they found something else to invest in. It’s kind of a land swap for them; whereas for us, it was just a straight-out purchase.

“We had set the money aside more than a year in advance for a land purchase and it wasn’t going to be used until we found the land to purchase. We had a certain parameter we wanted the farm to be in so that it would be more accessible for the staff in Bloomington to get there, and if we had trade teams fly in to Bloomington or come into Bloomington, then it wouldn’t be too far to take them out to the farm.

“It just happened to work out that the money we set aside was almost the exact amount of money we needed.

“It’s a big venture, there’s no doubt about it, and there’s always risk involved in something like that, but didn’t know how the farm community would take it. But, interestingly enough, I never did receive any calls on it, and even after we’ve got the signs, I don’t know that we’ve received any calls from farmers.

“I think that’s a positive. I think it shows that the farmers trust the farmers that are investing the checkoff dollars to do what’s right, and they believe that if we think it’s going to pay dividends for them, then they’re for it.”