Episode Number
62
Episode Show Notes / Description
The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership coordinates the Soil Health Leadership program, which Extension partners on. Explore more below.
Explore efforts to reduce nutrients in Illinois waterways from agricultural runoff to municipal wastewater with host Todd Gleason and producers Rachel Curry, Nicole Haverback, and Emma Eldridge.
- Read the blog at extension.illinois.edu/nlr/blog
- Subscribe for updates
- Explore more about nutrient loss in Illinois at go.illinois.edu/nutrientloss
Transcript
Todd Gleason 0:06
This is episode 62 of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Podcast Isotope Soil Health Leadership Program. I'm University of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason. Coming up, we'll talk about the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership and its relationship to the Soil Health Leadership Program. First, we'll explore the partnership, then discuss the program, and finally hear from somebody who's experienced the Soil Health Leadership Program. We'll start with Helen Van Beck. She's the Midwest program manager for the American Farmland Trust. I asked her to tell us about herself, her role and what she does with the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership.
Helen VanBeck 0:45
Sure. So my name comes in back. I'm a program manager on American Farmland Trusts and best team. And part of that is serving as the manager of the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership. And so that's one of my programs. I spend quite a bit of time on it. And yeah, I'm mostly in providing programmatic support, administrative support, keeping all of our programs kind of in line, doing a lot of member engagements and making sure that our members are actively participating and engaged in our programs and that they are getting the benefits of the partnership that they would like to get and having their priorities sort of elevated through our collaborative partnerships. But like most conservation work, so it's wearing a lot of different hats. So sometimes I'm helping develop resources as farmer, facing resources. Sometimes it's communications through our newsletter website, facilitating our program meetings and our partnership meetings. So there's it's a little bit of a lot of a lot of things with that.
Todd Gleason 2:00
What are the origins of the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership? The way it was developed, some of its objectives?
Helen VanBeck 2:07
Yeah. So we are now a nonprofit organization with 15 members who are all working in Illinois. But the group really developed in 2017
through sort of memorandums of understanding, and they came about in response to the establishment of the nutrient loss reduction strategy in 2015. And, you know, it sort of came from conversations that some of our member organizations were having at the time around how how Illinois as a state and Illinois agriculture specifically was going to address some of the it was going to meet some of the goals that were established in the strategy. And so today, since then, the partnership has grown. We've added new members. We filed as a501c3 nonprofit last year in 2023, but we still are using those. The goals that are established in the nutrient loss reduction strategy is kind of the Northstar of the organization and we've sort of taken on a train the trainer model, you know, understanding that we're going to need a lot of people across the state, farmers and their advisors who are well equipped to implement these conservation practices that are suggested in the strategy and also to help their their neighbors, their customers, you know, other other farmers that they're working with. And to also also adopt some of these practices.
Todd Gleason 3:39
Can you tell me a little bit more about the stakeholders in the partnership, the benefits of collaborating?
Helen VanBeck 3:47
Sure. So as I mentioned, we've got 15 members and it's it's sort of a good mix across types of entities. So, you know, I mentioned that I'm employed by American Farmland Trust. We're a strong and leading member in the group and we're definitely more of a conservation ag entity. The Nature Conservancy is another group that kind of falls into that category. And then we've got some commodity groups. So a really strong leader is the Illinois Soybean Association. They're provide a lot of generous support to our to our programs, both with their staff and financially. We also have educational entities involved. So the Illinois Central College is a partner, University of Illinois. And we've got some some groups that have a lot of on the ground support. So extension and that that allows us to work with extension agents across the state as well as association. So a lot of conservation districts. And so the same thing there.
And, you know, I think just recognition of all of our 15 individual members have their specific priorities for their organizations and they have unique connections with farmers. And so some of us across the partnership are are working with sort of a different subset of farmers. But there's really value in the partnership coming together and agreeing on a unified message for how we talk about these practices and how we talk about the benefits both environmentally and economically, and how that unified message that's being spread to farmers across the state.
I think that that is one of the strongest benefits of collaborating, right? That.
Todd Gleason 5:45
You know, what are the challenges that farmers face when they're transitioning to these more sustainable practices?
Helen VanBeck 5:52
Yeah, So we've we've closed out a lot of information about this, right, because we're all trying to the practice of what is it going to take to get to adoption. And one of the things that I have has really focused on is kind of this information gap. So, you know, when we're talking with farmers, we're you know, we're doing a lot of education around the benefits of the practices. But then, you know what, Someone has decided. Sure, Yeah. Okay. I'll I'll put in some cover crops. Where do I get seed from? You know, just just having some of some of this information really easily accessible for them. So a couple of things that we've put together over the past couple of years. We put together a directory of cover crop service providers and that includes seed dealers as well as applicators and a variety of different services that that are offered to farmers. We've also put together several financial incentive directories. So again, like, you know, just making trying to make it really easy and clear for farmers to see where they can get paid to implement these practices. So we have a cover crop incentive directory, we have an incentive directory for edge of field practices. We put together an overview of carbon market opportunities for farmers and really just trying to help connect farmers to the information really easily. And you know, a lot of times I think that farmers it's hard in that space specifically where it feels like people are trying to sell you something. And so I suppose really try to be kind of that that independent third party just sharing information. And then and then another another thing that we know is that, you know, farmers want to hear from other farmers that these practices are working, and that's really a trusted source of information. So I suppose has tried to uplift successful stories of farmers who are implementing these practices. So whether that's including farmers, farmer voices in our trainings and in our workshops and our webinars, but also putting together farmer profiles to share their stories a little bit further out. And one of the things that we've also put together is our Conservation story map, which includes pins across the state of farmers service providers, people who have gone through ESOPs training programs, as well as demonstration sites where some of these practices can be seen. And that's just another way to connect people to local sources of information about about these practices.
Todd Gleason 8:35
Where can people go that they might find this information?
Helen VanBeck 8:38
So we've got a website, it's a i l sustainable AG Board, and you can learn more about our programs there. We also have a resource library that we keep updated. We have an events calendar so you can find a workshop near or field day near you or an upcoming webinar. We have a career page where people can stay up to date if they're looking for jobs in the conservation space. And then we also put out a monthly newsletter called the Aggregate, and you can sign up for the newsletter on our website. And that's where we we send out sort of the recap every month of articles and other and other resources, as well as some of those upcoming events and and job opportunities. So that's the best way to stay up to date as we're rolling out, you know, new projects and new resources for farmers. That's really that's really where the best way to stay up to date with them.
Todd Gleason 9:38
Are there any other things that you want to highlight as it's related to, I suppose, some of the resources or projects? Sure.
Helen VanBeck 9:45
So I mentioned our incentive directory. We also host a monthly webinar on focused on cover crop topics under the Illinois cover crop on Farm Network. So that's a great way to get more information about cover crops and and sort of connect with other people in Illinois and across the Midwest who are working on that. And then also, you know, kind of a highlight of, I suppose, programming is the Soil Health Leadership Program, previously titled the Advanced Soil Health Training. Aesop has held five cohorts of the training up to now. So we've trained over 100 farmers and their advisors on soil health topics, and we're really excited to be launching this this next cohort this fall.
Todd Gleason 10:35
What's the application deadline for the fall program?
Helen VanBeck 10:38
Sure. So the application is available on our web site. I o Sustainable ag dot org Forward slash FH help for Soil Health Leadership program. And the application is open until May 31st, and applicants can expect to hear back sometime by late June.
Todd Gleason 10:55
Again, the application for the Soil Health Leadership Program is available on the I SAP or Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership Program. We've been talking with Helen Van Beck of the American Farmland Trust. Now let's turn our attention to Megan Baskerville. She's with the Nature Conservancy and has more about the Soil Health Leadership Program. And, of course, I asked her to to tell us about her role in the Nature Conservancy.
Megan Baskerville 11:22
Yeah. Megan Baskerville. I'm the Illinois AG program director for the Nature Conservancy, and we are a worldwide nonprofit that focuses on conservation. We've started as a land trust, but we also work in the working land space as well. And Illinois TNC joined ISAT kind of from the start back in 2017, and we've been a member of the Sustainable AG Partnership since then. I currently serve as a vice president and we're excited about pushing out this whole health leadership program.
Todd Gleason 12:00
Tell me about the program itself and some of its specific goals, objectives, those sorts of things.
Megan Baskerville 12:06
The Soil Health Leadership Program is a six part training that takes place over 18 months across Illinois, guiding participants on the science and principles of soil health. Right alongside that kind of practical production management changes that are needed to maximize the on farm benefits of these systems. The training was really designed for people that are already in the field advising on road crops in Illinois or managing crops themselves.
Todd Gleason 12:38
Can you tell me about a transition that took place? Because the Soil Health Leadership Program at one point was the Advanced Soil Health Training program. What was that transition like and what's changed?
Megan Baskerville 12:51
Yeah, so a lot of people might be more familiar with it under that moniker, Advanced Soil Health Training. ICF has been running this training since back in 2018. I was actually a participant way, way back when in the first cohort. But this name change is really just the name change. The program content and the structure has not changed. We just thought the name change underlines the anticipation that farmer that participants take what they learn back out to their community. We think of this program as almost a train the trainer, where these participants are learning a lot about the principles of soil health and how to implement them successfully. But we can't get everyone in Illinois through this type of a program. So we're really hoping they bring this information back to their clients and their community where they're from.
Todd Gleason 13:48
In what ways can the individuals implement what they've learned to the community?
Megan Baskerville 13:55
Yeah, So we have an application process and that application we do ask potential participants what their oh, how should I say this, what their impacts might be. We might ask how many acres are they currently advising on? One of the easiest ways to implement the lessons learned is through guiding clients or themselves through a transition, adding one or multiple of the practices that might help increase soil health on the farm. So direct implementation through advising is definitely a possibility. And another is if they have a platform to share resource is maybe they're on a soil and water or Farm Bureau board that they can have an impact in setting up educational programs or if they have a farm, are they willing to invite people onto that farm and see the practices for themselves? So how they get that information back out, there can be lots of different, varied ways and hopefully something comes up where again, that information kind of goes beyond them. At the end of the training.
Todd Gleason 15:06
To date, are these individuals more loosely that are already involved, organizational meaning they belong to an organization directly and are hired by them, or are they individuals and farmers and other business people?
Megan Baskerville 15:22
Yeah, that's a great question. One of the big tenets of the program is that the participants are learning from themselves as well, and it's slightly interdisciplinary. So our hope is that we have a equal smattering of participants. A third are crop advisors, either independent agronomists or working through a retailer. A third are conservation staff. So perhaps they're working at us or in the water district or some other entity that's still advising growers. And then a third farmers. So growers themselves that are implementing these practices. So our hope is if they are employed by somebody that they get that sign off from their employer to be participating because it is a longer program. Again, it's six to day trainings over 18 months. So it definitely takes up some time to buy in from their employers that they can be there and they don't feel like they're, you know, having to be separate or two different spots at one time. They can really focus on the training.
Todd Gleason 16:31
Farmers who are interested will want to know if these trainings take place during the growing season and if so, if they coincide with the time that they really want to be in the field.
Megan Baskerville 16:40
Right. Great point. So we're doing our best to get the dates of the program out front. So when people apply, they can see exactly what times we're discussing. So we're trying to avoid those really busy times for the farmers and the crop advisors and conservation staff that might be involved. The current potential dates for the 2024 2025 training are up on the kind of application landing page on its website. I l sustainable ag dot org backslash as h l p but right now we have some in August, November, early March pre planting mid-summer and then winter. So really avoiding April maize, September, October.
Todd Gleason 17:34
You've mentioned this already and just now, but how do individuals apply for the program.
Megan Baskerville 17:39
Mm hmm. So we have an application form that's open now through May 31st, and that can be accessed through our website, which is I'll sustainable ag dot org, I'm pretty sure right on the home page, kind of the very first thing you'll see is to apply for ICE, that Soil Health leadership program. On that page you'll learn a little bit more about the program. Again, when those six trainings are scheduled to take place, you'll see some quotes from previous graduates just to see what their experience was. And then that is where there's an online application form. It's maybe 10 to 12 questions that would be submitted. And then we hope to notify successful applicants that they're in the program by June, which it would then start in August.
Todd Gleason 18:36
So that's the second time we've heard how to apply for the Soil Health Leadership Program. And as we were wrapping that up, Megan Baskerville told us that there was a transition in from the Advanced Soil Health Training Program to the Soil Health Leadership program. One of the people who has gone through the advanced training is Brandon Halm. He's a location operations manager for West Central Air Force out of Watauga, Illinois. I asked him to tell us about his experience.
Brandon Hall 19:06
Yeah, so I had went to a few meetings in relation to my my role at Knox County Farm Bureau, young leaders as the chair of that stewardship grant process. So I went to some meetings and and was told the about the application process and then was contacted and like it was a really great fit for me as a as an ag retailer trying to learn more about
and trying to bring that to the table for my growers.
Todd Gleason 19:47
You talked a little bit about this, but what is it that motivated you to join?
Brandon Hall 19:51
Yeah, I guess for me, first and foremost, I'm kind of a soil nerd. So when it when it came and anything to do with educating myself, sharpening the blade as an agronomist in the soils world, it's fun for me. So soil health and so soil and ability has been a hot topic in agriculture for quite some time. And I kind of wanted to be at the leading edge of of this this new world of sustainability. So as I as I was approached, it was really a no brainer. It was just another way for me to educate myself and get more prepared for questions at work that were going to be coming down, down the pipe from from my growers, especially when we're talking about carbon credits and talking about soil health. So health and then cover cropping as a whole. So you know, and guys, farmers changing their management systems to adapt to some of these new technologies. So I just felt like it was it was my responsibility as a certified crop advisor, as a partner for for my growers and my community to be able to for them to have somebody that they could come to that had taken a course that had had given me the experience to to give educated information from across the state of Illinois.
Todd Gleason 21:23
When you think about the training itself, are there sessions that stood out more than others as they relate to things that you're able to pass on to producers?
Brandon Hall 21:33
So I would say just as as a whole, there wasn't one session that I didn't make. Obviously, that was a challenge in itself. Sometimes I think people are, you know, in in agriculture or busy people, and it's hard to fit in your schedule to make all of the trainings, but each one was well worth its time. So that know part of them are a one day session. We go out to the field and then the next the next day you'd be in the classroom or vice versa. But each one in its in itself had had value. You know, I think beginning with just basic soil, soil information, the basics of stuff that I learned when I was in college, just to reiterate that information and
sort, you know, relearned some of the stuff that maybe I'm not using currently in my role that now is coming back or it were the values of going to on site trainings where growers that are what I would expect, what I would say were experienced and advanced in the system, in this cropping system, this cover cropping system, they they are giving us firsthand
information, the do's and don'ts on their farm, using their farms as an example, and how they made it work for their system. So I don't think there's one that that really stands out because they all had value in their own, in their own ways.
Todd Gleason 23:06
Have you started to use what you've learned through your operations there at West Central?
Brandon Hall 23:12
FS Yeah, absolutely. So one of the things that I've I've said a couple of times in after I got the certificate and I, I hold this in my office, I've had a few people ask me what that was about. And then there was an article put out about the next round of this been in. And what I told them is it has given me the confidence boost. Training has given me the confidence level to have to have these tough conversations about management practices. You know, if you have been doing the same thing over and over and over again, the same thing that Grandpa did, and then I did. Now, now we've got my generation coming in farming. You know, it's a tillage system that they're using now, having some conversations wrapped around soil health and cover cropping and maybe some know tool systems or reduced tillage systems. And sometimes it's become a tough conversation. And so just because that's what they know and that's what they've always done and it's and it's all highlighted for them, it's it's giving me the confidence to start having those conversations and and interoperate and then also tying that in to the cover, having Knox County, you know, validating that that we are doing good things and give me some experience to then look at some data that we're collecting through that project and then use that on farm trial system to then give examples for growth in our community. So and then also tying that in in education, I have a lot of opportunities where I work with the community, whether that's FFA or Forage or or even some community college black coffee. I can give some I can give students education on what soil health is and how that's how that's, you know, an important part of the future of agriculture here in West Central.
Todd Gleason 25:16
That's Brandon Hall from Watauga, Illinois. He's a location operations manager at West Central Air Face and had participated in the predecessor to the current Soil Health Leadership Program. If you'd like to apply for that program, you can do so. The deadline is May the 31st. Visit the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership website. That's IL Sustainable ag dot 0rg, and you'll find an application link for the Soil Health Leadership Program on the home page. You've been listening to the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Podcast. It's produced in concert with Extension's. Rachel Currie and Nicole have her back. I'm University of Illinois Extension's. Todd Chris.
This is episode 62 of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Podcast Isotope Soil Health Leadership Program. I'm University of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason. Coming up, we'll talk about the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership and its relationship to the Soil Health Leadership Program. First, we'll explore the partnership, then discuss the program, and finally hear from somebody who's experienced the Soil Health Leadership Program. We'll start with Helen Van Beck. She's the Midwest program manager for the American Farmland Trust. I asked her to tell us about herself, her role and what she does with the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership.
Helen VanBeck 0:45
Sure. So my name comes in back. I'm a program manager on American Farmland Trusts and best team. And part of that is serving as the manager of the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership. And so that's one of my programs. I spend quite a bit of time on it. And yeah, I'm mostly in providing programmatic support, administrative support, keeping all of our programs kind of in line, doing a lot of member engagements and making sure that our members are actively participating and engaged in our programs and that they are getting the benefits of the partnership that they would like to get and having their priorities sort of elevated through our collaborative partnerships. But like most conservation work, so it's wearing a lot of different hats. So sometimes I'm helping develop resources as farmer, facing resources. Sometimes it's communications through our newsletter website, facilitating our program meetings and our partnership meetings. So there's it's a little bit of a lot of a lot of things with that.
Todd Gleason 2:00
What are the origins of the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership? The way it was developed, some of its objectives?
Helen VanBeck 2:07
Yeah. So we are now a nonprofit organization with 15 members who are all working in Illinois. But the group really developed in 2017
through sort of memorandums of understanding, and they came about in response to the establishment of the nutrient loss reduction strategy in 2015. And, you know, it sort of came from conversations that some of our member organizations were having at the time around how how Illinois as a state and Illinois agriculture specifically was going to address some of the it was going to meet some of the goals that were established in the strategy. And so today, since then, the partnership has grown. We've added new members. We filed as a501c3 nonprofit last year in 2023, but we still are using those. The goals that are established in the nutrient loss reduction strategy is kind of the Northstar of the organization and we've sort of taken on a train the trainer model, you know, understanding that we're going to need a lot of people across the state, farmers and their advisors who are well equipped to implement these conservation practices that are suggested in the strategy and also to help their their neighbors, their customers, you know, other other farmers that they're working with. And to also also adopt some of these practices.
Todd Gleason 3:39
Can you tell me a little bit more about the stakeholders in the partnership, the benefits of collaborating?
Helen VanBeck 3:47
Sure. So as I mentioned, we've got 15 members and it's it's sort of a good mix across types of entities. So, you know, I mentioned that I'm employed by American Farmland Trust. We're a strong and leading member in the group and we're definitely more of a conservation ag entity. The Nature Conservancy is another group that kind of falls into that category. And then we've got some commodity groups. So a really strong leader is the Illinois Soybean Association. They're provide a lot of generous support to our to our programs, both with their staff and financially. We also have educational entities involved. So the Illinois Central College is a partner, University of Illinois. And we've got some some groups that have a lot of on the ground support. So extension and that that allows us to work with extension agents across the state as well as association. So a lot of conservation districts. And so the same thing there.
And, you know, I think just recognition of all of our 15 individual members have their specific priorities for their organizations and they have unique connections with farmers. And so some of us across the partnership are are working with sort of a different subset of farmers. But there's really value in the partnership coming together and agreeing on a unified message for how we talk about these practices and how we talk about the benefits both environmentally and economically, and how that unified message that's being spread to farmers across the state.
I think that that is one of the strongest benefits of collaborating, right? That.
Todd Gleason 5:45
You know, what are the challenges that farmers face when they're transitioning to these more sustainable practices?
Helen VanBeck 5:52
Yeah, So we've we've closed out a lot of information about this, right, because we're all trying to the practice of what is it going to take to get to adoption. And one of the things that I have has really focused on is kind of this information gap. So, you know, when we're talking with farmers, we're you know, we're doing a lot of education around the benefits of the practices. But then, you know what, Someone has decided. Sure, Yeah. Okay. I'll I'll put in some cover crops. Where do I get seed from? You know, just just having some of some of this information really easily accessible for them. So a couple of things that we've put together over the past couple of years. We put together a directory of cover crop service providers and that includes seed dealers as well as applicators and a variety of different services that that are offered to farmers. We've also put together several financial incentive directories. So again, like, you know, just making trying to make it really easy and clear for farmers to see where they can get paid to implement these practices. So we have a cover crop incentive directory, we have an incentive directory for edge of field practices. We put together an overview of carbon market opportunities for farmers and really just trying to help connect farmers to the information really easily. And you know, a lot of times I think that farmers it's hard in that space specifically where it feels like people are trying to sell you something. And so I suppose really try to be kind of that that independent third party just sharing information. And then and then another another thing that we know is that, you know, farmers want to hear from other farmers that these practices are working, and that's really a trusted source of information. So I suppose has tried to uplift successful stories of farmers who are implementing these practices. So whether that's including farmers, farmer voices in our trainings and in our workshops and our webinars, but also putting together farmer profiles to share their stories a little bit further out. And one of the things that we've also put together is our Conservation story map, which includes pins across the state of farmers service providers, people who have gone through ESOPs training programs, as well as demonstration sites where some of these practices can be seen. And that's just another way to connect people to local sources of information about about these practices.
Todd Gleason 8:35
Where can people go that they might find this information?
Helen VanBeck 8:38
So we've got a website, it's a i l sustainable AG Board, and you can learn more about our programs there. We also have a resource library that we keep updated. We have an events calendar so you can find a workshop near or field day near you or an upcoming webinar. We have a career page where people can stay up to date if they're looking for jobs in the conservation space. And then we also put out a monthly newsletter called the Aggregate, and you can sign up for the newsletter on our website. And that's where we we send out sort of the recap every month of articles and other and other resources, as well as some of those upcoming events and and job opportunities. So that's the best way to stay up to date as we're rolling out, you know, new projects and new resources for farmers. That's really that's really where the best way to stay up to date with them.
Todd Gleason 9:38
Are there any other things that you want to highlight as it's related to, I suppose, some of the resources or projects? Sure.
Helen VanBeck 9:45
So I mentioned our incentive directory. We also host a monthly webinar on focused on cover crop topics under the Illinois cover crop on Farm Network. So that's a great way to get more information about cover crops and and sort of connect with other people in Illinois and across the Midwest who are working on that. And then also, you know, kind of a highlight of, I suppose, programming is the Soil Health Leadership Program, previously titled the Advanced Soil Health Training. Aesop has held five cohorts of the training up to now. So we've trained over 100 farmers and their advisors on soil health topics, and we're really excited to be launching this this next cohort this fall.
Todd Gleason 10:35
What's the application deadline for the fall program?
Helen VanBeck 10:38
Sure. So the application is available on our web site. I o Sustainable ag dot org Forward slash FH help for Soil Health Leadership program. And the application is open until May 31st, and applicants can expect to hear back sometime by late June.
Todd Gleason 10:55
Again, the application for the Soil Health Leadership Program is available on the I SAP or Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership Program. We've been talking with Helen Van Beck of the American Farmland Trust. Now let's turn our attention to Megan Baskerville. She's with the Nature Conservancy and has more about the Soil Health Leadership Program. And, of course, I asked her to to tell us about her role in the Nature Conservancy.
Megan Baskerville 11:22
Yeah. Megan Baskerville. I'm the Illinois AG program director for the Nature Conservancy, and we are a worldwide nonprofit that focuses on conservation. We've started as a land trust, but we also work in the working land space as well. And Illinois TNC joined ISAT kind of from the start back in 2017, and we've been a member of the Sustainable AG Partnership since then. I currently serve as a vice president and we're excited about pushing out this whole health leadership program.
Todd Gleason 12:00
Tell me about the program itself and some of its specific goals, objectives, those sorts of things.
Megan Baskerville 12:06
The Soil Health Leadership Program is a six part training that takes place over 18 months across Illinois, guiding participants on the science and principles of soil health. Right alongside that kind of practical production management changes that are needed to maximize the on farm benefits of these systems. The training was really designed for people that are already in the field advising on road crops in Illinois or managing crops themselves.
Todd Gleason 12:38
Can you tell me about a transition that took place? Because the Soil Health Leadership Program at one point was the Advanced Soil Health Training program. What was that transition like and what's changed?
Megan Baskerville 12:51
Yeah, so a lot of people might be more familiar with it under that moniker, Advanced Soil Health Training. ICF has been running this training since back in 2018. I was actually a participant way, way back when in the first cohort. But this name change is really just the name change. The program content and the structure has not changed. We just thought the name change underlines the anticipation that farmer that participants take what they learn back out to their community. We think of this program as almost a train the trainer, where these participants are learning a lot about the principles of soil health and how to implement them successfully. But we can't get everyone in Illinois through this type of a program. So we're really hoping they bring this information back to their clients and their community where they're from.
Todd Gleason 13:48
In what ways can the individuals implement what they've learned to the community?
Megan Baskerville 13:55
Yeah, So we have an application process and that application we do ask potential participants what their oh, how should I say this, what their impacts might be. We might ask how many acres are they currently advising on? One of the easiest ways to implement the lessons learned is through guiding clients or themselves through a transition, adding one or multiple of the practices that might help increase soil health on the farm. So direct implementation through advising is definitely a possibility. And another is if they have a platform to share resource is maybe they're on a soil and water or Farm Bureau board that they can have an impact in setting up educational programs or if they have a farm, are they willing to invite people onto that farm and see the practices for themselves? So how they get that information back out, there can be lots of different, varied ways and hopefully something comes up where again, that information kind of goes beyond them. At the end of the training.
Todd Gleason 15:06
To date, are these individuals more loosely that are already involved, organizational meaning they belong to an organization directly and are hired by them, or are they individuals and farmers and other business people?
Megan Baskerville 15:22
Yeah, that's a great question. One of the big tenets of the program is that the participants are learning from themselves as well, and it's slightly interdisciplinary. So our hope is that we have a equal smattering of participants. A third are crop advisors, either independent agronomists or working through a retailer. A third are conservation staff. So perhaps they're working at us or in the water district or some other entity that's still advising growers. And then a third farmers. So growers themselves that are implementing these practices. So our hope is if they are employed by somebody that they get that sign off from their employer to be participating because it is a longer program. Again, it's six to day trainings over 18 months. So it definitely takes up some time to buy in from their employers that they can be there and they don't feel like they're, you know, having to be separate or two different spots at one time. They can really focus on the training.
Todd Gleason 16:31
Farmers who are interested will want to know if these trainings take place during the growing season and if so, if they coincide with the time that they really want to be in the field.
Megan Baskerville 16:40
Right. Great point. So we're doing our best to get the dates of the program out front. So when people apply, they can see exactly what times we're discussing. So we're trying to avoid those really busy times for the farmers and the crop advisors and conservation staff that might be involved. The current potential dates for the 2024 2025 training are up on the kind of application landing page on its website. I l sustainable ag dot org backslash as h l p but right now we have some in August, November, early March pre planting mid-summer and then winter. So really avoiding April maize, September, October.
Todd Gleason 17:34
You've mentioned this already and just now, but how do individuals apply for the program.
Megan Baskerville 17:39
Mm hmm. So we have an application form that's open now through May 31st, and that can be accessed through our website, which is I'll sustainable ag dot org, I'm pretty sure right on the home page, kind of the very first thing you'll see is to apply for ICE, that Soil Health leadership program. On that page you'll learn a little bit more about the program. Again, when those six trainings are scheduled to take place, you'll see some quotes from previous graduates just to see what their experience was. And then that is where there's an online application form. It's maybe 10 to 12 questions that would be submitted. And then we hope to notify successful applicants that they're in the program by June, which it would then start in August.
Todd Gleason 18:36
So that's the second time we've heard how to apply for the Soil Health Leadership Program. And as we were wrapping that up, Megan Baskerville told us that there was a transition in from the Advanced Soil Health Training Program to the Soil Health Leadership program. One of the people who has gone through the advanced training is Brandon Halm. He's a location operations manager for West Central Air Force out of Watauga, Illinois. I asked him to tell us about his experience.
Brandon Hall 19:06
Yeah, so I had went to a few meetings in relation to my my role at Knox County Farm Bureau, young leaders as the chair of that stewardship grant process. So I went to some meetings and and was told the about the application process and then was contacted and like it was a really great fit for me as a as an ag retailer trying to learn more about
and trying to bring that to the table for my growers.
Todd Gleason 19:47
You talked a little bit about this, but what is it that motivated you to join?
Brandon Hall 19:51
Yeah, I guess for me, first and foremost, I'm kind of a soil nerd. So when it when it came and anything to do with educating myself, sharpening the blade as an agronomist in the soils world, it's fun for me. So soil health and so soil and ability has been a hot topic in agriculture for quite some time. And I kind of wanted to be at the leading edge of of this this new world of sustainability. So as I as I was approached, it was really a no brainer. It was just another way for me to educate myself and get more prepared for questions at work that were going to be coming down, down the pipe from from my growers, especially when we're talking about carbon credits and talking about soil health. So health and then cover cropping as a whole. So you know, and guys, farmers changing their management systems to adapt to some of these new technologies. So I just felt like it was it was my responsibility as a certified crop advisor, as a partner for for my growers and my community to be able to for them to have somebody that they could come to that had taken a course that had had given me the experience to to give educated information from across the state of Illinois.
Todd Gleason 21:23
When you think about the training itself, are there sessions that stood out more than others as they relate to things that you're able to pass on to producers?
Brandon Hall 21:33
So I would say just as as a whole, there wasn't one session that I didn't make. Obviously, that was a challenge in itself. Sometimes I think people are, you know, in in agriculture or busy people, and it's hard to fit in your schedule to make all of the trainings, but each one was well worth its time. So that know part of them are a one day session. We go out to the field and then the next the next day you'd be in the classroom or vice versa. But each one in its in itself had had value. You know, I think beginning with just basic soil, soil information, the basics of stuff that I learned when I was in college, just to reiterate that information and
sort, you know, relearned some of the stuff that maybe I'm not using currently in my role that now is coming back or it were the values of going to on site trainings where growers that are what I would expect, what I would say were experienced and advanced in the system, in this cropping system, this cover cropping system, they they are giving us firsthand
information, the do's and don'ts on their farm, using their farms as an example, and how they made it work for their system. So I don't think there's one that that really stands out because they all had value in their own, in their own ways.
Todd Gleason 23:06
Have you started to use what you've learned through your operations there at West Central?
Brandon Hall 23:12
FS Yeah, absolutely. So one of the things that I've I've said a couple of times in after I got the certificate and I, I hold this in my office, I've had a few people ask me what that was about. And then there was an article put out about the next round of this been in. And what I told them is it has given me the confidence boost. Training has given me the confidence level to have to have these tough conversations about management practices. You know, if you have been doing the same thing over and over and over again, the same thing that Grandpa did, and then I did. Now, now we've got my generation coming in farming. You know, it's a tillage system that they're using now, having some conversations wrapped around soil health and cover cropping and maybe some know tool systems or reduced tillage systems. And sometimes it's become a tough conversation. And so just because that's what they know and that's what they've always done and it's and it's all highlighted for them, it's it's giving me the confidence to start having those conversations and and interoperate and then also tying that in to the cover, having Knox County, you know, validating that that we are doing good things and give me some experience to then look at some data that we're collecting through that project and then use that on farm trial system to then give examples for growth in our community. So and then also tying that in in education, I have a lot of opportunities where I work with the community, whether that's FFA or Forage or or even some community college black coffee. I can give some I can give students education on what soil health is and how that's how that's, you know, an important part of the future of agriculture here in West Central.
Todd Gleason 25:16
That's Brandon Hall from Watauga, Illinois. He's a location operations manager at West Central Air Face and had participated in the predecessor to the current Soil Health Leadership Program. If you'd like to apply for that program, you can do so. The deadline is May the 31st. Visit the Illinois Sustainable AG Partnership website. That's IL Sustainable ag dot 0rg, and you'll find an application link for the Soil Health Leadership Program on the home page. You've been listening to the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Podcast. It's produced in concert with Extension's. Rachel Currie and Nicole have her back. I'm University of Illinois Extension's. Todd Chris.