Nutrient loss in our waterways: the role of agriculture

Welcome to another episode of the Everyday Environment podcast, where we explore the environment we see every day. I'm your host, Amy Lefringhouse.

And I'm your cohost, Erin Garrett.

And today, we are here with Rachel Curry, and she is a statewide ag and agribusiness educator for us here at Illinois Extension. And she focuses on education and outreach regarding the Illinois NLRS, which we will go into a lot more during this podcast, what those letters mean. She focuses on agricultural conservation, soil health, and water quality. So you have a you have a big job, Rachel. We thank you for being here and taking your time to be here with us today.

Well, thank you for having me.

Well, let's start off just by telling our audience about your work and what you do.

Well, I think you did a pretty good job covering a lot of what I do in the introduction, but I focus on the nutrient loss reduction strategy or the NLRS, which is our state strategy to reduce nutrient loss, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from leaving our state and keeping it where it belongs. And being an ag educator, I do that through agricultural conservation and education outreach on different practices. And a lot of the work that I do also focuses on soil health and water quality.

That's great. And we're gonna get into a lot of those topics today. I feel like when we are chatting on our podcast and Rachel, you've been on the pod before, so, our listeners might remember you. And then we're back again to chat. Of course, this season, you know, we're chatting all about water. So we wanted to make sure that we included lots of different perspectives, lots of different industries in the conversation when we're chatting about water. And so as we get started today, you know, you mentioned the NLRS, the nutrient loss reduction strategy, a couple other things that you were talking about it all had the word nutrient in it. So there are, you know, we could say excess nutrients in our waterways. And when we talk about that, what are the nutrients we're talking about and where are they coming from?

There are several nutrients that can cause issues within our water and impact our water quality. But the work that I do and the nutrient loss reduction strategy primarily focuses on nitrogen and phosphorus. And we're worried about nitrogen and phosphorus because, again, they impact our water quality. And so when we have these excess nutrients, they can result in algal blooms. And this can happen in our local water bodies or it can happen in the Gulf. And so the nutrients are going to feed the algae and the algae are going to grow and cause these algal blooms. And once the season changes or all the nutrients get used up then the algae are going to die off and decompose. And it's this decomposition process that takes oxygen out of the water. And it can actually be to the point where it makes the water uninhabitable for aquatic species. I mentioned the hypoxic zone or the dead zone in the Gulf, and that's a result of this process.

But when it happens in our local water bodies, it impacts our water quality and impacts our drinking water safety and impacts our ability to use recreational sites. So people like to go swimming or boating or fishing or anything on the water. Like, Like, I love being on the water. If there's an algal bloom, then those recreational sites are closed and you can't do those activities. We've kinda talked about it a little bit already, but nutrients can come from multiple sources. And within the NLRS, we focus primarily on three different sources right now. We have our point sources, which are our wastewater treatment facilities. We have urban stormwater. So, you know, nutrients coming from your home or your community. And then, non point source ag. And that's where a lot of the work that I do falls.

And there are other sources of nutrients that are part of ongoing research, like stream bank erosion, which some people may have heard about, but that's not currently part of our strategy until the research is completed and reviewed. In Illinois, we're really concerned with these nutrients and the amount of nutrients that we're losing, because we're a top contributor of both nitrogen and phosphorus, not only to the Mississippi River, but eventually to the Gulf. And so Illinois, along with 11 other states within the Mississippi River Basin, were tasked by the US EPA to create a strategy on how each state was going to reduce the nutrient loss from their state. And so that's where we have our Illinois nutrient loss reduction strategy or the NLRS.

You mentioned the agricultural source of, you know, nutrients in in our waters. And, obviously, that is your focus. So why might the rest of us who are not farmers, why might we need those farmers to pay attention to protecting our water and pay attention to those nutrients? Like, what's going on in, you know, the farmers' day to day?

I think it's important that we all realize that we're all stewards of our resources, and farmers feel very passionately about that. They are stewards of the land that is their livelihood. But within the NLRS, there is a breakdown of where nutrient loss is attributed to these different sectors. And from this original breakdown, which happened when our NLRS was released in 2015, it attributed about 80% of the nitrogen and about half of the phosphorus leaving the state to agriculture. A lot of that is coming from fertilizers that aren't being taken up by the crop. And for us, we look at it as an environmental issue, but for farmers, that's an economic issue. Fertilizers are not cheap. They are not getting any cheaper and they're necessary to maximize their yield. And so if the fertilizer isn't staying on their field and being taken up by their crop, it's being lost, like that's a loss of return on their investment.

Mhmm. Yeah. So is there a research I assume there's tons of research being done on, like, how to maximize the amount of fertilizer application, the timing of the application to try to figure out how to keep it on the land, prevent it from going into the water, and maximize the yield.

Yes. There's a bunch of research being done on the agricultural four r's, the right source, right rate, right time, and right place to make sure that we are maximizing our nutrient efficiency. And that's actually one of the agricultural conservation practices that are recommended by the NLRS called nutrient management.

Okay. Awesome. I can imagine that would be really complicated too. Right? It sounds simplistic, but there's lots of different topography. Right? There's lots of different weather conditions, and that changes year to year. So I can imagine this is, like, super complicated to figure out.

Oh, yes. And that is why I could never be a farmer. It's it's too stressful for me trying to make all of these decisions that are best for the land and best for their economics without having all of the information. Cause you never know what each year is going to bring. And like you pointed out, Illinois is a really long state and what works well in southern Illinois doesn't work well in northern Illinois and vice versa. So simple as we would like to make it, it is very, very complicated.

And I think that also just shows too for, you know, the general public where it could be really easy to say, well, like, just figure out the right amount and put it out there. It's not that simple. And even if what works in one year might be completely different than the next year, and there's always gonna be uncertainty. Right? Definitely with our weather conditions. So I think that helps bring it into perspective of, like, maybe why we have such a big issue is it is really difficult to figure out the right amounts of fertilizer, of nutrients to add in order to be successful in our crops that we need because we need food. That's important. And so, you know, all of that balance is is definitely a huge challenge. Something that it's good to learn. There is a lot of research being done to try to create, I assume, strategies or tools or things to help with all of that.

Make it as easy for the farmers as possible to make sure that they're being environmentally sound as well as focus on the economics. Because at the end of the day, farming is a business just like anything else. And so you have to make sure that you are being economically sound.

Sure. And and, I mean, it's beneficial to the farmers. Right? You already said that, Rachel, their crops need these nutrients to grow and to, you know, maximize their production. You know, farmers don't want it to flow into our waterways and down the Mississippi River. You know, we need it on our fields. So they want to do this. They need to and they want to to make their business profitable and provide the food, like you said, fiber and things like that that we need it day to day. In that same vein then, what are farmers doing to protect, you know, our water resources? I know there's lots of folks out there doing some really cool things. So what are farmers doing that are being successful?

Well, there are a lot of agricultural conservation practices out there that are available to farmers, and they've been shown to improve water quality. Within the NLRS, we've got a much smaller list, and that's based on practices that have been submitted and reviewed by our NLRS ag water quality science team. A lot of it has to do with the research that's being done here in Illinois. So it's Illinois focused. So we can understand how these practices work in Illinois and in our systems with our climate and assign a nutrient reduction rate, which is approximate cause like you pointed out each year is different. So we can't say that every year this practice is going to have this nutrient reduction rate. But within our practices, we have a variety of different practices. So we have infield practices. And when we say infield practices, it's just like what it sounds like. There are practices that happen on the field. So that includes things like cover crops and conservation tillage.

Then we have edge of field practices. And again, it's just like what it sounds like. These practices are implemented at the edge of the field. So these are when we'd be talking about wood chip bioreactors and saturated buffers. And then within the NLRS, we have a third type of practice and it's called land use change. The idea behind this is that there are acres that are less productive. And so if they are taken out of row crop production, they can be transitioned to an energy or perennial crop rather than continued in row crop production. So that's just to say that there are a lot of different practices out there that can be implemented, but nothing is cookie cutter. You can't just implement practices without understanding how they're gonna impact an operation.

Can you give us some examples of each of those? Like what are some examples of infield practices and edge of field practices?

Yep. So when we're talking about infield practices, we have our cover crops, nutrient management is a big one that we've seen a lot of people adopt that practice recently, as well as splitting your fertilizer application instead of putting it all on at one time, breaking it up. So that way it's there when the plants need it. Terraces are a relatively new practice that have been part of the NLRS, but they've been implemented in Illinois for a very long time, as well as water and sediment control basins or WASCOBS. Did I say cover crops already? If not, cover crops are a huge one that are a big practice that we're trying to talk more about because they are one of the few practices that can result in nitrogen and phosphorus reductions. But here in the state of Illinois, according to one of the most recent NASS surveys, only about 6% of our row crop acres have cover crops on them. That's an area where we can improve. When we're talking about edge of field practices, we have wood chip bioreactors, saturated buffers, and then non tile drain buffers, which are like grass waterways along a waterway and then constructed wetlands. Edge of field practices are are taking less productive row crop acres and transitioning them to perennial or energy crops.

I have two questions. Number one, I hear the word bioreactor all the time, and I'm like, woah. What does that even mean? It sounds like when you first hear it, you're like, woah. Are they, like, building this building and something's happening there and they're, you know, whatever? I know that that's not what it is. Can you, like, just very simply talk about a bioreactor? Because it sounds

I don't think that there's anything simple about a bioreactor, but I'll do my best.

Well, I guess in general, is it a you know, what is it? Like, paint a picture, I guess.

I don't know how many people are gonna be familiar with tile drainage, but tile drainage is something that is quite common in central and northern Illinois, and it's necessary for farmers to have in their fields to allow them to farm these fields. It helps remove excess water when we've had heavy rainstorms or in the spring as the snow melts. And nitrogen is highly mobile with water. And so when this water is entering the tidal drain, it is leaving the field. And so a bioreactor is a practice that is implemented at the edge of the field at an outlet for a tile drain and it's in very simplistic terms. So I hope nobody gets mad at me. A big hole in the ground

Okay.

With wood chips in it. The tile drain water is diverted into this bioreactor. And without getting too complicated, the microbes convert the nitrate nitrogen, which is in the tile drain water into nitrogen gas and that's released.

So then the nitrates aren't getting into our groundwater. So as the water moves through the bioreactor, when it's done its thing, there's an outlet, which then puts the tile drain water into wherever the tile is gonna have an outlet anyway. But because we also wanna make sure that these practices aren't impacting the farmability of the fields, there's a bypass. So if there's too much water coming in, instead of backing it up into the field, there's an outlet that will divert the water. And so, unfortunately, that means that not all the water is going to be treated by the bioreactor, but that things that have to be considered in order to make sure that the farmer is not

Yeah. Impacted. Negatively impacted. Right. Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for that. Because sometimes I'm like, woah. I don't know what that means and it sounds really like technical. So thanks for that explanation. My second question was when you say perennial crop, I just wanted to know some examples of perennial crop. Are we talking pollinator areas? Are we talking about what are we talking about there?

So a lot of that is gonna follow under this under CRP.

Mhmm. Okay.

The conservation reserve program. And so there are opportunities for that to be planted for pollinators. That is an option. That's a conversation that the landowner and farmer need to have with the NRCS.

Okay. Cool. So where you're having a perennial crop where there's you don't plant it year after year after year. Obviously, like your annual crops, you're just planting it, and it is coming and going season after season.

There's usually a little bit of maintenance that's needed and required, but that's, yeah, my level of expertise.

Sure. Absolutely. Thank you.

I did have a question because we talk about cover crops all the time. Could you give us a small breakdown of how does a cover crop work? Like, when is it planted? What are the typical cover crops that we see? And, like, what is it doing?

So most of the time, what we're seeing is cereal rye. There are considerations when to plant cereal rye. A lot of farmers don't necessarily like planting cereal rye ahead of corn because they're both grasses. And so that can make some management decisions a little bit tricky. But there are also farmers out there that have been using cover crops for years. And so they have learned what works best for them and will sometimes do a mix. So they'll incorporate things like tillage radishes if they need that over legumes to fix a little bit of extra nitrogen and have that in the soil. There's a lot of different ways to plant cover crops. The most common tend to be either aerial seeding, which is either by helicopter or airplane. Some broadcast it with their fall fertilizer application.

Okay.

Some will drill it in after harvest. It all depends on where the farmer's located, what they have access to, and what the season doing. Are they harvesting in December? Because at that point in time, that may change their decisions on what cover crops do. And there's research coming out of U of I through Extension. Dennis Bowman, who's doing a lot with artificial intelligence using robots and drones to seed cover crops into standing crops. And so that prolongs the growing season.

That's really fascinating. I was just personally interested because I don't know that much about it. At least on my old route that I would commute to work, I know I was driving past a cereal rye, a field of it, and it was so beautiful. I always love seeing it because it's just I'm a grass girl. So to see that? Like, it's so pretty. But I was just interested to hear, especially when you mentioned, like, the implementation rate of that is quite low in Illinois, right, at this point. But it's just interesting just how it works because that is one that I think a lot of people have heard about, but I don't know if they know exactly how it works or all the details and things that go into that. So it's really interesting.

I enjoy driving by in the colder month, and I'm like, oh, look. There's some green on that field. Oh, yeah. It makes me happy.

Alright. So we've talked a lot about the challenges that come, right, with implementing these strategies. But if there's anything more that you wanna speak to when it comes to challenges that our farmers have to face or different priorities that they have to kinda balance with implementing these, let's focus on that for a little bit.

I've mentioned a few of the challenges, but there are some serious consideration that these farmers have to take. And we've talked about the economics already. You know, people may not realize, but at the beginning of the season, farmers are taking out huge loans to make sure that they can cover the cost of equipment and repairs and seed and other inputs like fertilizer in order to make sure that they're maximizing their yields so they can pay off that loan at the end of the year. Some years are better than others. And 2024, we had lower commodity prices and so that makes things a little bit tighter. Their profit margins are a little bit thinner than they would be on maybe a more average year.

And so when we're talking about these different practices, some of them like reuse tillage and cover crops, they can provide a return on investment, but it takes a little while. We're talking about improved soil health and that doesn't happen overnight. So there's a window in which it's gonna take for these practices to to really take off. Then we have some other practices like nutrient management where that can result on less being spent on their fertilizer. So you're seeing a more immediate return on that investment. But when we're talking about some of our edge of field practices, like saturated buffers and bio reactors, they're in place to capture the nutrients after they've already left the field. And so, you know, the idea is that it's reducing the nutrient load in our local waterways, but they're not seeing a return on investment on those practices.

That makes sense. Nutrients leaving the field. Right? That's what they they need that.

Yeah. And they're really expensive. Yeah. We just helped install a bioreactor earlier this fall. The average price for a wood chip bioreactor runs between $10,000 and $20,000 So for these type of practices, cost share opportunities are really important. And so we have lots of cost share opportunities out there. We've got state, federal, local, and there's even some private cost share programs. But when we're talking about like our federal and state programs, oftentimes the landowners have to approve the practice implementation. They have to sign off on, on all of these things. And we know from our most recent biannual report that there are a lot more applications coming in for these cost share opportunities than there are available funding for these projects. And I mentioned landowners. I think this is something that a lot of people aren't really aware of. About 75% of Illinois row crop ground is farmed by somebody other than the owner of that land. So 75% of Illinois row crops on average are on rented ground.

It's in your blog, Rachel. And when I read that, I was like, wow. I didn't realize it was the percentage was that high.

Yeah. So when you don't own the ground, you may be a little bit more hesitant to invest a lot of money, not knowing how long you're going to have that contract. And if the landowner isn't supportive, then it doesn't matter. You can't do it. And again, if you're renting the land, you have to get the landowner's permission to install a practice. And there are some landowners that are all in. There are some that are you can do it, but you still have to pay full cash rent on this ground. I'm learning more and more that there are some landowners out there that are willing to be really involved in this.

I feel like in vice versa too. Right? So if you're the renter and you wanna do some of this stuff, there's that. But then also vice versa, if you're the landowner and you want some sustainable practices or some of these conservation practices on your property, then finding that that tenant that would would want to do those too. I feel I feel like it might be both ways. Right?

Yeah. So I've sat in on some conversations about that. And so that's been really interesting. And so one of the pieces of advice I give is you you just have to have these conversations. You have to talk to each other because you just never know where the other person is in there, what they wanna do and what they would like to have done. And to help with that, actually, the Illinois farm doc has a set of they're called base addendums. And so they focus on some different aspects of conservation farming. So those are things that can be used by the farmer or primarily the landowner to have these conversations about maybe doing more or different conservation practices on the land. And I think one other thing that we haven't hit is that some of these practices actually reduce yield, and it can be a temporary yield reduction. But even so, when we're talking about then profit margins, that is definitely a consideration. When we're talking about cover crops, that's really one of the big ones. You're oftentimes expecting to see a decrease in your yield for five or so years after you've implemented cover crops as the cover crops are doing what they do to improve your soil health and resiliency within your operation. But still that is five years where Right. You may not be getting the yields that you are used to.

Sure. Yeah. Well, that's very interesting, Rachel, just how complex it is between landowners, renters, and, you know, just just how complex this entire farming operation and decision making. And it's great for us to know just as the general public, you know, like Erin said earlier, how how difficult it can really be. So us as the general public or those, you know, interested in our natural resources, what can we do to support these farmers who are working on these these issues and protecting our water resources? What can we do?

There are several different things that we can do. And one of the things that I like telling everybody is talk to your local farmers. Ask them what they're doing. They are very proud of the work that they are doing. I don't recommend doing it during harvest or planting because those are very busy times, but, you know, even just ask to get in the tractor with them so they can show you around. Like that is often my advice to landowners, especially like get a better understanding of what's going on. Another thing that we can do is advocate. Advocate to your state and federal representatives to increase funding for conservation practices, as well as technical assistance. And we're saying technical assistance that provides support to these farmers to implement these practices. You can purchase products from farmers that employ sustainable practices. And one of the things that my team is involved in quite a bit is watershed planning. And so engaging and supporting your local watershed plans to promote agricultural conservation. Like, these are all great ways that we can all become involved. And also just remember that we're all stewards of the land and we can all do things, whether it's around our house or in our community, to reduce nutrient loss.

Well, I'll put in a plug too. We have a program with Illinois Extension that we're launching. Right? Watershed stewards. And and that is a way that folks in Illinois can educate themselves or bring awareness to their own watershed and and how they can be stewards of of their own watershed and which, again, along with everyone else working on conservation issues, you can be a part of that solution as well. So just a shameless plug for watershed stewards program that is is beginning to emerge through Illinois Extension.

And I would encourage anybody who is interested to reach out to their local Extension office to see if the training is gonna be available.

Well, is there anything else, Rachel, that we didn't cover today that you wanna make sure that everyone knows, or have we covered it all?

We'll provide links. Illinois Extension has a website on the nutrient loss reduction, and so it covers all of the different sectors and the things that we can do. There are webinars that we've given in the past as well as a fact sheet on the nutrient loss reduction strategy and agricultural conservation. My team released a video over the summer on saturated buffers. So you can learn more about saturated buffers and how they work, as well as there are links to the nutrient loss reduction podcast and blog, which focuses on agricultural conservation and nutrient loss.

Oh, wonderful. Well, we really appreciate your time, Rachel, and especially in explaining these things to folks that might not be in the agricultural industry. I think it's really important for us to be aware of what others are doing and, especially when we're driving across the landscape and and looking at different farms a lot, obviously, in our state. So we really appreciate you breaking it down for us and talking about what farmers are doing out there. So thank you again.

Absolutely. It's been my pleasure.

Well, we, as usual, wrap up our episodes with an everyday observation where we highlight the mundane and normal of our environment that is actually very interesting. So I'm gonna start with you, Erin. Do you have an everyday observation to share with us today?

I do. So mine is gonna be seasonally relevant to the time of our recording, which is in December. So, you know, this is not being released in December. But as I've been driving around town here in southernmost Illinois, I have just been struck by the amount of mistletoe that I'm seeing in all of the trees. So for those that don't know, we do have a native species of mistletoe. In Illinois, it's called American mistletoe or oak mistletoe. And is a a parasitic plant. Right? So it does feed off of and take nutrients from our trees, but not in like a super detrimental way. But it's just really fascinating because, of course, all the leaves are gone from the trees now. So you can see these beautiful brilliant, like, perfectly circular bright green mistletoe clumps that are there all year long. Right? You just can't see them all year. So it's just been really fun to kinda see how prevalent it is. It's all over the place here in the southernmost part of the state. So just something kinda cool that you don't really see all the time, but it's there. And, we get to get to see it this time of year. So I've enjoyed seeing the mistletoe.

Oh, that's very cool. That's very cool. I have to keep my eye out. I haven't paid attention to that. So that's neat. What about you, Rachel? What about you? What do you have for your everyday observation?

I guess, like, Erin, it's seasonally relevant here in the middle of December when we're recording, but we've had a couple of snowstorms. There hasn't been a ton of snow, but I am not a fan of snow and cold. But my two and a half year old woke up the other day and was just over the moon that we had snow. He was just so excited, and he was like, snow. So I am I am working very hard to see the snow through his eyes and see the magic and the beauty that it is. And it it is beautiful, but being an adult, it's lost some of its magicalness. I'm working to seeing that as well.

Mhmm. Great. Yes. Yes. That's awesome. I have an everyday observation. Bird related, I was traveling across Central Illinois, this week and spotted some trumpeter swans that were flying over. And it's neat to see those because they're so big, and their wingspan is huge. And then, you know, they have kind of like a slow wing, beat. So, you know, they're very distinctive, I guess, from, you know, like a snow goose or, you know, other, migratory birds, I guess, that we're seeing that are white. Right? So that was kinda neat to see those. I always think they're just neat and graceful. And, yeah, I pointed it out to my daughter that was like, mom, you're such a bird nerd. But it was super it was super cool for me, for sure. So that is my that is my everyday observation.

I love the trumpeter swans. When I lived in Minnesota where I went to school, there was like a whole bunch of lakes in around an arboretum, and we would always look for the trumpeter swans. And they were there a lot of the time, and it was really cool to see them because they are they're huge and just, like, so majestic. So that's really cool.

Absolutely. We were outside last night for five minutes because it was very cold. But my son was like, we need to be outside. Like, well, you're nuts, but okay. Five minutes. And while we were out there and he was pretending to mow the grass, through the snow. There was a block of geese that flew over our house and the the perfect v shape. And they were honking. And I was like, hey, look at this. And he was like, oh, okay. Now I'm gonna go back to mowing the snow.

We'll get there. Right? We'll get there.

Yeah. I feel like later in life, they'll be like, remember that one time mom when we saw that swan? You know? It'll it'll stick. Surely, it'll stick. Well, thank you again, Rachel, for being with us today. We appreciate it.

Thank you for having me.

Well, this has been another episode on the Everyday Environment podcast. Check us out next week where we talk with Layne Knoche. He is going to talk to us about rain gardens.

This podcast is a University of Illinois Extension production, hosted and edited by Abigail Garofalo, Erin Garrett, and Amy Lefringhouse.

University of Illinois Extension.