Resources

For several years, Clinton County Farm Bureau (CFB) has supported a multi-component cover crop and manure management project, evaluating soil health, nutrient use efficiency, return on investment, and more.  Their April 22^nd Nutrient Stewardship Field Day focused on getting producers out into the plot to see this year’s cover crop mixes and hear updates from the past year’s key findings and takeaways. 

After a quick welcome and introduction by Clinton CFB Manger Brad Conant, Illinois Farm Bureau’s Environmental Program Manager Raelynn Parmely shared some background information on the organization’s investment in nutrient stewardship efforts statewide.  Attendees then learned about cover crop termination options from Gateway FS’s Tyler Voss, updated manure nutrient values and economics from Certified Crop Advisor Terry Wyciskalla, farm-level cover crop economics from host farmer Mark Litteken, and a tour and discussion around the (fall-planted) cover crop plot with Litteken and Cliff Schuette from Schuette Seeds.

In addition to hearing from the CFB and their partners, Dr. Amir Sadeghpour, an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) and his student, Gabriella Burkett, also presented findings from their ongoing manure and cereal rye research, much of which is also taking place in Clinton County.

Now in our eighth year participating in IFB’s Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program, the Clinton CFB is continuing to provide numerous education and outreach opportunities, primarily focused on manure management, cover crops, and soil health.  As part of the multi-year research project with Illinois Farm Bureau, the Clinton CFB has committed over $278,000 in local nutrient stewardship research to-date.