NUTRIENT MEETINGS: MARK YOU CALENDARS

Tricia Braid

Apr 28, 2015  |  Today's News

IL Corn encourages you to attend one of the upcoming meetings hosted by the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP). These meetings will cover important information regarding the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (Strategy). It is imperative that every farmer in the state gain an awareness of the Strategy, consider best management practices (BMP) that make sense for their farm, and follow through by adopting those practices. Specific to relevant watersheds, the meetings will focus on BMPs specific to each region of the state.

Andy Bartlow, District 9 director on the Illinois Corn Growers Association, serves as Vice-President of CBMP.

Illinois stretches more than 400 miles from north to south. Soil types and farming practices change depending on where you are.  This meeting will give farmers and other stakeholders the opportunity to discuss how the strategy will impact them at their local watershed level and will arm them with information about on-farm BMPs they can use. Farmers also will learn all that is being done to reduce nutrient losses and how to build on current successes.

Scheduled for release in July, the Strategy provides a framework for reducing nutrient losses, improving local water quality and improving the quality of water leaving the state and entering the Gulf of Mexico. Faced with raising more food while protecting natural resources, the Illinois agricultural community is taking on that challenge. Illinois farmers have the support of CBMP and of other organizations as they adopt voluntary enhanced nutrient stewardship and conservation practices.

CBMP is hosting 11 of these meetings across the state in June. For a complete list of meeting locations, visit www.illinoiscbmp.org.

Farmers are invited to bring water samples from their farms to be tested on-site during the meeting. A meal will be provided and the event is free. Attendees are asked to RSVP to your County Farm Bureau.

The Illinois Council on Best Management Practices, a non-profit 501-c (5) organization, was formed in 1998. Its mission is to assist and encourage adoption of best management practices to protect and enhance natural resources and the sustainability of agriculture in Illinois. Member organizations include Illinois Corn Growers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association, Illinois Pork Producers Association, Syngenta Crop Protection, Monsanto and GROWMARK.