For Farmland Conservation, It Comes Down To Who Owns It
TOLONO — Lin Warfel puts farmland owners in central Illinois into two categories: Those with a deep connection and desire to preserve their land, and those obsessed with short-term money. The 80-year-old still owns the land that’s been in his family since his great-grandfather arrived in Champaign County in the 1800’s. After farming it […]
It’s Been Six Years Since Illinois Set Out To Improve Water Quality. So Far, Farm Runoff Is Worse
BROADLANDS — When it rains on Joe Rothermel’s central Illinois farm, most of the water drains into the nearby East Branch Embarras River. There, it begins a journey south through the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. As it flows through more and more farmland, fertilizer runoff — which once nourished crops — compounds the water’s […]
More Farmers Are Planting Cover Crops Thanks To State Incentive Programs
Last month, the Illinois Department of Agriculture opened applications for its second annual Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program — which provides a…
‘We Have One Earth’: Researchers Work To Boost Farm Production Without Causing More Harm
At the edge of a corn field on a clear but windy June day, microbiologist Tom Moorman lifts a metal lid and reveals a collection of bottles, tubes,…
News Around Illinois – November 27, 2019
State Crop Sustainability Goal Is Centuries Away PEORIA – Illinois is still two centuries away from hitting towards its goal of planting enough cover crops to make a significant dent in nutrient pollution in waterways. That’s according to a coalition of environmental groups responding to the state’s recently-released biennial Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy report. Nutrient […]