One of the less thought of impacts of canceled conferences, shows, field days, and meetings within our industry has been the shortage of CEU opportunities for Crop Advisors. If you are a Certified Crop Advisor in need of CEU's, or just interested in attending online conferences or listening to webinars regarding information directly impacting our industry, then we encourage you to go through&...more

New rules in Illinois require farmers or those working on their behalf to be certified in order to transport, apply or work on ammonia equipment.  The rules are posted below.  The IL Dept of Ag will offer on-line training starting in January 2021.  IFCA and IDA plan to offer "train the trainer" classes in early 2021 so that retailers can provide in-person ...more

The State of Illinois has implemented new covid mitigations effective Nov 20, 2020.  Click the heading above to see the guidelines.  Below are other resources on how essential industries such as agriculture can continue to function.  Contact IFCA with questions.  

Late in the afternoon of October 27, USEPA announced it has issued new registrations for XtendiMax and Engenia, two dicamba products whose labels were cancelled last July 31, 2020.  The Agency also extended the registration for Tavium; therefore, all these labels now expire in 2025.  No news on the registration for FeXapan yet, but registration for this product would be possible since the XtendiMax registration ...more

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) has an informative checklist for growers to serve as a reminder to keep safety in mind when handling anhydrous ammonia.

Paraquat labels in 2020 require anyone who "uses" or applies the products to be certified applicators and also take paraquat label training.  Syngenta explains the requirement in the document below.  To access the on-line paraquat training program, click on the title of this story.  To learn more about classroom training options see the document below.  

NREC recently updated its Cover Crop Guide, including more guidance based on research performed on Illinois farms.  Please click on the link provided to read over the new version of the cover crop guide, "Considering Cover Crops? - Let this guide be your guide to success"

There are several important compliance requirements for Illinois ammonia facilities and nurse tanks that go into effect on December 31, 2020. Click below to view the NH3 Rules Compliance Guide or to download the regulations (8 IL Adm Code Part 215).

On November 2015 USEPA revised the worker protection standards to implement more protection for agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. Most of the revised WPS standards became effective on January 2018.  The WPS requires commercial pesticide handler employers to provide specific information and protections to workers, handlers when WPS-labeled pesticide products are used on agricultural establishments in the production of agricultural plants.  Additional resources on Worker ...more

There may be some confusion on markings on nurse tanks that are enrolled into the NTIP program.  The DOT-SP 13554 is no longer required as a marking on the side of the nurse tanks.  Click below for examples of current markings that are acceptable and markings that would be considered a violation.