Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation District invites you to its 2024 Summer Farm Tour. One stop features an ag tile-treatment constructed wetland, and the other explores field sites using conservation practices such as no-till/strip-till, cover crops, and nutrient management. The Smart Wetland featured on this tour was built in August 2018 at Fulton Family Farm between Saunemin and Cullom. Landowner Jim Fulton and wetland designer Jill Kostel, the Wetlands Initiative, will present and give tours of the site.

You will also hear from U of I researcher Dr. Zhongjie Yu on the “Effects of tillage, fertilizer placement, and winter cover crops on nutrient losses.” The event starts at 8 am on August 27 and ends with lunch at the Saunemin Community Center, 70 North St, Saunemin, IL 61769. Please RSVP by Aug. 20 by calling 815-844-6127, ext 3, or sending an email to livingstoncountyswcd@gmail.com.

The Marshall Putnam Soil and Water Conservation District and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff along with the Wetlands Initiative are sponsoring a webinar to help farmers understand how they can use the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to implement conservation practices on their farms.

This program will be presented live via Zoom from 10 to 11 a.m. on June 12, 2024. Register here for the webinar link and password.

In addition to providing an overview of each program, resources are available to help farmers integrate conservation improvements into their farming operations.

The Marshall Putnam Soil and Water Conservation District and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff and the Wetlands Initiative are sponsoring two webinars designed to help farmers interested in developing a conservation plan for their operation and how they can use the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to implement that plan.

The conservation planning program will be presented live via Zoom from 10 to 11 AM on June 5, 2024. Register here for the webinar link and password.

Additional resources will be made available to help farmers learn more about the program practices and how to integrate conservation into their farming operations.