SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) will be holding a free three-part webinar series debunking popular myths that keep some farmers from adopting soil health and conservation drainage practices. The series will look beyond the environmental benefits of conservation practices to highlight the production and economic benefits producers can gain by transitioning to a soil health system. This three-week series will be June 13, 21, and 27 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. CT. Continuing education credits, CEUs, will be offered.
“This webinar series highlights the production benefits of soil health and conservation drainage practices,” says Megan Baskerville, chair of ISAP. “Farmers and landowners across Illinois can make management decisions that bolster farm resilience while also contributing to Illinois’s water quality goals; it isn’t either-or.”
The first webinar will take on the myth that “Cover Crops Are Just Another Input,” exploring the agronomic benefits of taking a systems approach to improving soil health. The second session will review the economic benefits of transitioning to a soil health system, busting the myth that “Conservation Costs Too Much.”
The speakers in our final session will take on the widespread belief that “Tile and Conservation Don’t Mix,” emphasizing ways that tile systems can be designed to mitigate nutrient loss and serve as a foundation for soil health systems. Each session will feature three experts, including a farmer perspective, followed by a facilitated Q&A.
The Risk Management Webinar series aims to increase the knowledge of farmers, landowners, and advisers, bringing the agriculture industry together to highlight how conservation practices go beyond the environmental benefits and build resiliency for Illinois farms.
Additional details and registration information can be found online at www.ilsustainableag.org/risk-management. If you have questions or need assistance with registering, please send email inquiries to ilsustainableag@gmail.com.
As a coordinated and consistent group, the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership focuses on messaging, outreach, training and education for farmers and their trusted advisers to bring together and disseminate new information and lessons learned in plain, practical language. Members work collaboratively to amplify the programs of each organization, share resources to gain efficiencies and identify synergies in achieving soil health and nutrient goals. ISAP’s mission is to create a network to support a systems approach on agriculture lands to improve soil health and reduce nutrient loss. ISAP’s members include: The Nature Conservancy, American Farmland Trust, Precision Conservation Management, Illinois Corn, Illinois Central College, The Wetlands Initiative, The Zea Mays Foundation, Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association, Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Illinois Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, University of Illinois Extension, Agriculture Drainage Management Coalition, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Certified Crop Advisers, and Midwest Dairy.
This media release is shared with permission from the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership.