"Keep it for the Crop by 2025" (KIC by 2025 for short) is a program you will be hearing a lot about and its success will help ensure a climate that allows ag retailers and growers to control their future when it comes to nutrient management.  Faced with growing pressure from USEPA and environmental groups to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels in Illinois lakes and streams, IEPA held several nutrient stakeholder meetings over the past year to look at ways to address this issue.  You need only look to the Chesapeake Bay and Florida to see how nutrient regulations have complicated ag production in those states and created great uncertainty about the future. 

 

Illinois ag groups including IFCA accepted the challenge to create our own program to address nutrient losses from the agricultural sector.  The KIC by 2025 program lays out a series of approaches to promote, implement and track the adoption of the 4R's of nutrient stewardship:  Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place.  IEPA has identified six priority watersheds where they are asking agriculture to work directly with them to implement nutrient stewardship efforts that make sense for growers and also for the environment.  Efforts include items such as stabilizing all fall applied nitrogen, moving toward split applications, proper nutrient placement and continual utilization of current and new product and equipment technology to enhance nutrient management and stewardship.  The goal is to protect the farmers' nutrient investment and protect everyone's water. 

We officially launched the program on Sept 1 at the Farm Progress Show.  Funding to kick-start the program is being made possible with support from IFCA members Agrium, CF Industries, Koch Fertilizer, Mosaic and Potash Corp, along with support from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and Illinois Soybean Association.  To view the press announcement and the map of the priority watersheds, go to www.ifca.com.  As you will see in the press release, this program has broad based support from agribusiness, commodity organizations, environmental groups and our state regulatory agencies. 

 

IFCA will be asking our members in these watersheds to work with us to help growers implement the enhanced nutrient stewardship practices outlined in KIC by 2025.    This is agriculture's chance to demonstrate that we can manage our industry effectively without regulations and lawsuits.  In the coming weeks you will see many messages coming from the KIC program.  We'll need your help in these watersheds to be successful and look forward to working with you.  If you have immediate questions, please contact Jean Payne.