Some of you may receive survey in the mail from the National Agricultural Statistics Service asking for your participation in an Illinois specific survey regarding some of your crop production practices, including: use of cover crops, tillage strategies and nutrient application strategies. This information will be used to create a baseline of farmer activity in Illinois within the scope of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. IL Corn encourages those of you that receive the survey to participate. The survey will have a cover letter from Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Raymond Poe.

Poe’s letter reads:

Congratulations, you have been randomly selected to provide important information that could help change the future of Illinois agriculture.  As Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, I want to personally convey to you how important your participation in this survey is to our state.

This Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) survey will ask you about some of your crop production practices, including: use of cover crops, tillage strategies and nutrient application strategies.  The survey will also ask some questions about fields with tiling.   A high-participation rate will help us prove to authorities in Washington that Illinois does not need additional mandates; that our state’s farmers and ranchers can make a difference through voluntary involvement; and that our producers have taken ownership of the issue and are willing and able to meet the challenge.

The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) is a joint effort by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Water Resources Center, and several public and private stakeholders.  

The Illinois effort is one of 31 other state strategies developed and implemented across the Mississippi River basin, intended to improve our nation’s water quality.  

Illinois’ strategy provides a framework for reducing both point and non-point nutrient losses to improve our state’s overall water quality, as well as the quality of the water leaving the state and making its way down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico.

Please take a moment to fill out this survey.  Share with us your best management practices.  Your responses will help us build a bi-annual report that showcases the voluntary efforts that are being conducted across our great state.  

On behalf of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and the organizations listed below that are involved in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, I want to thank you for your time and commitment to Illinois agriculture.  

Raymond Poe
Director, Illinois Department of Agriculture

The Illinois Department of Agriculture would like to thank the following agencies/organizations for continued dedication to Illinois agriculture:  American Farmland Trust, Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Certified Crop Advisors, Growmark, Illinois Corn Growers Association, Illinois Council on Best Management Practices, Illinois Association of Drainage Districts, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, Illinois Pork Producers Association, Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Nutrient Research and Education Council, The Nature Conservancy,  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Farm Service Agency.