The IFCA leadership would like to thank everyone for the successful stewardship efforts this year on fall applied nitrogen.  It was evident from the number of shipments that the majority of fall ammonia was applied in November, giving the soil time to cool off.  In recent years, it was common for the industry to begin application in mid October so a big THANK YOU to everyone who set a great stewardship example by waiting, and by stabilizing fall applied nitrogen. 

In the coming weeks, the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices will be communicating with retailers who are located in the priority watersheds, asking for feedback on fall applied nitrogen such as the average rate, average start date, and what % of the tons were stabilized.  CBMP is collecting this information to document the industry's implementation of the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship:  Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place.  In moving forward with the "Keep it for the Crop" (KIC) program, we committed to Illinois EPA that we would show progress over time (by 2025) on efforts to fully implement industry accepted nutrient stewardship practices for nitrogen and phosphorus in these watersheds.  Demonstrating our progress on these voluntary stewardship efforts will assure a future where agriculture can make decisions on nutrient application rather than a regulatory approach to control nutrient applications.  If you have any questions about KIC, please contact Jean Payne. 
 

Thank you again everyone for supporting KIC, for demonstrating good fall N stewardship and for helping to educate growers on the 4Rs.