ILLINOIS FARMERS JOIN SOIL HEALTH SUMMIT

Tricia Braid

Feb 02, 2017  |  Today's News

Building long-term data by its very nature takes time, but early indicators are promising on the relationship between soil health and economic, productivity and environmental gains in agriculture. That was the message delivered from the Soil Health Partnership, an initiative of the National Corn Growers Association, at its 3rd annual Soil Health Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, January 19-20.  About 185 Ag scientists, industry leaders, environmentalists, water quality experts and enrolled farmers discussed their efforts to make agriculture more productive and sustainable through healthy soil, including farmers from Illinois. IL Corn supports the work of the Soil Health Partnership.

Working with their agronomists and trained field managers, SHP farmers have enrolled about 32,000 acres to provide data for the analytics. The three main areas of study are cover crops, reduced tillage and advanced nutrient management.

These videos by Brownfield Network feature two Illinois farmers who attended the summit—Kirk Kimble, Chillicothe and Jason Lay, near Bloomington. They share what drives them in their journey for healthier soil.

The Soil Health Partnership has more than 65 partner farms across nine Midwestern states. This includes 18 farms in Illinois.

View other highlights from the summit.