Resources
Documents & Websites
Jumpstarting Conservation Drainage Practices in Illinois
Project Summary
The Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC), along with American Farmland Trust (AFT), Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association (IL LICA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and The Wetlands Initiative (TWI), were recently awarded a National Fish Habitat Partnership Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Fishers & Farmers Partnership. With these funds, this coalition of partners from the IL Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) is working in central Illinois to identify sites where (1) conditions are suitable for conservation drainage practices, and (2) there is local interest in gaining hands-on experience with the evaluation, design, and installation steps associated with conservation drainage practices. This “learning by doing” experience is critical for successfully installing conservation drainage practices, and it helps build momentum to deliver tile treatment practices at the pace and scale that can impact water quality. ISAP invites your participation and engagement in this effort to “jumpstart” conservation drainage practice installation in Central Illinois.
Who can provide more information?
Keegan Kult, Ag Drainage Management Coalition: kkult@admcoalition.com
Adrienne Marino, The Nature Conservancy, adrienne.marino@tnc.org
Jill Kostel, The Wetlands Initiative, jkostel@wetlands-initiative.org
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Precision Conservation Management: The Business Case for Conservation
Precision Conservation Management (PCM), is a program of IL Corn and Illinois Soybean Association. PCM released their annual “Business Case for Conservation” that offers data highlights gleaned from farmers in Illinois. The results are useful for farmers across much of the Midwest in regard to nitrogen application, cover crops, and tillage management.
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National Cover Crop Survey Report 2022-2023
From increasing yield to improving soil health, find out why farmers use cover crops. Since 2012, SARE, CTIC and other partner organizations have periodically conducted a national survey of farmers on their experiences with cover crops.
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Cover Crop Seed Dealers Directory
Click here to access a searchable, filterable live version of the directory.
Click here to add your business to the directory by completing our submission form.
ISAP does not endorse any particular program or company. Our goal is solely to share information among our farmer networks. The information in this directory was accurate at the time of publication (August 2023), but we encourage you to contact the service providers listed for the most up-to date information. If there is information in this directory that needs to be updated, please contact ISAP at hello@ilsustainableag.org
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An Overview of Voluntary Carbon Markets for Illinois Farmers
ISAP compiled “An Overview of Voluntary Carbon Markets for Illinois Farmers” to assist farmers and farm advisors in their evaluation of multiple market opportunities available in Illinois. This update includes additional carbon market opportunities available to Illinois farmers, summaries of 15 different voluntary carbon markets, a glossary of key terms, and a list of relevant resources.
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Guide to Water Quality, Climate, Social and Economic Outcomes Estimation Tools
The guide features multiple approaches, methods, and tools available to quantify environmental, social, and economic outcomes associated with farm conservation practices. All of the tools can be used by farm conservation project managers without the need for complex computer modeling.
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Carbon Reduction Potential Evaluation (CaRPE) Tool
American Farmland Trust expanded the utility of COMET-Planner by integrating cropland and grazing land acreages and data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
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COMET-Planner
This online tool provides general estimates of the GHG impacts of certain NRCS conservation practices. Estimates can be supplied in tonnes of CO2e reduction potential per acre per year.
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Illinois Farmers and Farmland and Part of the Climate Solution
This 2-page document recaps findings from a report titled “Potential for Conservation Practices to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequester Carbon on Croplands and Grazing Lands in Illinois” that provides an overview of county-level GHG emission estimates for croplands and grazing lands in Illinois and highlights the significant potential for Illinois cropland to reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon. The full report and information for additional states are available from the Farmland Information Center.
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Combating Climate Change on US Cropland
This report, produced by American Farmland Trust, highlights potential for US cropland to sequester carbon and reduce GHG emission through the adoption of cover cropping and no-till. Values are based on analysis conducted in CaRPE.
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