You make your living from the land.
You have been raised in the country, you’ve worked with Mother Nature all your life, and you understand that if you want the same sort of life for your children, you must preserve and conserve what is in your care.
Best management practices are the techniques and methods farmers use to take the best care of the soil, water, air, plants, and animals around them. IL Corn wants to partner with you to help you understand the best science, the best techniques, the best opportunities to care for your natural resources.
We have programming that will help you test your water for nutrient levels, try out cover crops for the first time, and apply nitrogen in the most responsible way. Our programming in this area continues to grow! Please stay plugged in with us to keep learning and growing as a conservationist.
Making Nitrogen Decisions
In Illinois, researchers have been testing different amounts of nitrogen in corn fields for years. They collected the data from these tests and created an online tool. This tool considers the current prices of corn and nitrogen fertilizer to figure out the best amount of nitrogen to use for maximum profit per acre. It's called the "Maximum Return to Nitrogen" rate (MRTN). Farmers can use this tool to make sure they're getting the most economic benefit from their nitrogen program and feel sure about their decisions.
Gain Access to Illinois' Premier Conservation Program
In 2016, IL Corn launched a farmer service program, Precision Conservation Management (PCM), in response to the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Today PCM is funded still by IL Corn and other organizations.
PCM works with farmers to help them understand the costs & benefits of adopting new conservation practices. They provide one-on-one support to qualifying farmers to help them understand the costs & benefits of adopting new conservation practices.
They provide FREE access to the Farmer Portal to any farmer who wants to contribute their farm data, and access recommendations based on other farmer participant’s aggregated, anonymized data.
NEW COVER CROP GUIDE PUBLISHED BY PRECISION CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT
Precision Conservation Management (PCM), a program of IL Corn and the Illinois Soybean Association, released a new cover crop guidebook this month in Prairie Farmer Magazine. PCM has conducted...
MorePayments Available for 2023 Cover Crops Through Farmers for Soil Health
Bloomington, Illinois – Farmers in Illinois can receive incentive payments for cover crops planted in 2023 by enrolling in Farmers for Soil Health by February 28. Farmers for Soil Health is a...
MoreIllinois Leopold Conservation Award Seeks Nominees
Nominations and applications are now being accepted for the 2024 Illinois Leopold Conservation Award®. The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their...
MoreIL Corn Celebrates Dr. Gary Schnitkey’s One Thousand Published FarmDoc Articles
Dr. Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois Professor in Agricultural and Consumer Economics, authored his one-thousandth article on FarmDoc Daily last month, a website created by the University of...
MoreStewart Receives Randy Stauffer Stewardship Award from PCM
Jean Stewart received the Randy Stauffer Stewardship Award from the IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) at their annual meeting on November 21, recognizing his farm conservation work through the...
MoreWalmart Joins Precision Conservation Management Program
In March of this year, PepsiCo made a significant $216 million multi-year investment in strategic partnerships with farmer-facing organizations, including Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), Soil and...
MorePrecision Conservation Management Releases 2023 Data
Precision Conservation Management (PCM), a program of IL Corn and the Illinois Soybean Association, released their annual “Business Case for Conservation” this month in the Prairie Farmer...
MorePCM and PepsiCo Partner To Increase Conservation Adoption in Illinois, Kentucky and Nebraska
Precision Conservation Management (PCM) will be increasing conservation acres in Illinois through a partnership with PepsiCo extending through 2030, according to PCM Director Greg...
MoreBrown Helps to Serve Farmers in Central IL
Precision Conservation Management (PCM) is thrilled to welcome Leyton Brown to the organization as a PCM Specialist. He will be serving farmers in Champaign, Vermillion, and surrounding...
MoreNew Addition to PCM Specialist Team
Precision Conservation Management (PCM) is thrilled to welcome Andrew Hiser as a specialist this February. He will be serving farmers in Sangamon, Christian, and Macoupin...
MoreDr. Laura Gentry to Speak at NASA Booth for 2nd Time at Commodity Classic
NASA doesn’t disappoint with their famous Hyperwall. NASA's Hyperwall is a video wall capable of displaying multiple high-definition data visualizations simultaneously across an arrangement of...
MoreLeopold Conservation Award Comes to Illinois
A prestigious award program celebrating voluntary conservation on farmland and forestland is coming to Illinois. The Leopold Conservation Award® recognizes agricultural landowners who inspire...
MoreSpring Applied Fertilizers are the Most Profitable Option for Illinois Farmers
Fall-applied nitrogen is not the most profitable nitrogen timing for Illinois farmers according to Precision Conservation Management (PCM) data published in June 2021. Compared to other nitrogen...
MoreIL Corn and IL Soybean Association are working on bringing the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award to Illinois
The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes farmers, ranchers and forestland owners in 24 states for their efforts to improve soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on their working land....
MorePrecision Conservation Management Releases 2022 Conservation and Financial Data
Precision Conservation Management (PCM), a program of IL Corn and the Illinois Soybean Association, released their annual “Business Case for Conservation” this month in the Prairie Farmer...
MoreConservation Corner - Myth Busters
Myth: “Planting into cover crops just doesn’t work; it’s too cold for my herbicides to work so I can’t manage cover crops in the spring; if you don’t kill them early, they get out of control; all...
MorePCM Welcomes New Employee to Team
Darren Cudaback joins the Precision Conservation Management (PCM) team as a specialist in Nebraska. Darren has spent the last 24 years in the ag industry helping producers with marketing programs...
MoreIllinois Farmers Engaging In State-Specific Efforts, Action, Progress In Reducing Nutrient Loss
Illinois’ agriculture community continues to focus efforts & investments on conservation Illinois family farmers are working to preserve the soil and water on their...
MoreWelcome New Precision Conservation Management Specialist, Frank Rademacher
Welcome Frank Rademacher our newest team member Frank is the newest edition to the PCM team and heard about the position because he himself has been a part of PCM for several years and seen,...
MoreRSVP for next week listening sessions
The Illinois Corn Growers Association will hold in-person listening sessions throughout the state to help prepare for the 2023 Farm Bill. As a grassroots organization, we value farmer input...
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