“The wealth of Illinois is in her soil, and her strength lies in its intelligent development.” That quote was from one of the first presidents of the University of Illinois almost 200 years, but attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard it reiterated by Jean Payne, President of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical …
CTIC Tour Host Big Believer in Filter Strips
Healthy soils are products of good management practices. And topping the list of practices for Terry Bachtold (shown getting an appreciation present for all his hard work of hosting), one of the host farmers for last week’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., is using filter strips. “I’m a big believer in filter strips,” he exclaimed. “Whether …
Farmer Appreciates Crowds, Support on CTIC Tour
Good crowds from around the area and many parts of the country turned out for last week’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., and that was appreciated by the local farmers. “Today we had a lot of people here. When you go to all that work, and you put these plots in, and you try to figure …
CTIC Panel Addresses Soil Quality, Nitrate Levels
One of the best parts about the Conservation Technology Information Center tour is the conversations that come up, either through formal panels or just informal talks. On the more formal side, local Livingston County, Ill., farmer Marcus Maier (pictured seated, holding the microphone) sat on a panel during the tour that addressed soil health and the issue of nitrate runoff …
Conservation Work Helps Farmers Avoid Regulations
Getting caught up in government regulations and red tape is something any farmer wants to avoid, and attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard how they can avoid more of that with voluntary programs, such as the one on display on the tour. Marcia Willhite, the Chief of the Bureau of Water with …
CTIC Tour Fosters EPA Watershed Understanding
Talk about some inter-agency friendliness. Here’s EPA’s Denise Keehner, Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds and Acting Chief Jason Weller, USDA-NRCS. They were attending the CTIC Conservation in Action Tour and met after luncheon remarks by Denise. I spoke with Denise after her remarks and on the subject of inter-agency cooperation she says it is the best she’s ever …
USDA and EPA Release Honey Bee Health Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure. “The challenges are complex and there is no smoking gun,” said …
An Earth Day Message
Got an email today from an employee of GROWMARK with a great message that I wanted to share for Earth Day week. I’m sure you’ve seen email signatures saying something like “Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail!” This one is a little different. Notice: It’s OK to print this e-mail. Paper is a biodegradable, renewable, sustainable product made …
New Resources Available for Dairy Producers
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announced new science-based resources available for dairy producers, processors, industry partners and stakeholders. The resources help the industry act on the unprecedented scientific research commissioned as part of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment — a collective effort of the dairy value chain to measure and improve the sustainability of U.S. dairy from farm to …
Novus’ Commitment to Sustainability
The vision at Novus International is to feed the world affordable, wholesome food. They have adopted a three pillar stance of solution, service and sustainability all tied in to thinking globally, but acting locally. Sustainability is the cornerstone of their vision to improve the quality of life for people around the world. During the recent International Production and Processing Expo, …