Within the next few weeks, the Illinois Department of Agriculture will send an invoice to fertilizer distributors listing the amount to be remitted to the Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council (NREC) based upon your Spring tonnage reports.  Please do not remit anything to NREC until you receive the invoice from IDA, and be sure to use the return envelope provided.  The NREC assessment remains at 75 cents per ton.  The NREC program is less than a year old, but in this short time it has re-energized nutrient related reserach and allowed Illinois agriculture to take a strong leadership role in successfully managing nutrient issues to minimize environmental impact, optimize harvest yields and maximize input utilization.  Click here for a brochure on NREC that lists the projects that NREC funded in 2013.  NREC will be meeting this fall to outline research and outreach priorities for 2014 utilizing funds from the spring tonnage assessments.  NREC also funds the "Keep it for the Crop" nutrient stewardship program and the N-WATCH soil nitrate inventory and tracking program.  New reports show that the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia zone is the largest on record, and agriculture must remain vigilant in our nutrient stewardship and research programs to ensure that crop production and fertility decisions remain in the capable hands of agronomists, land grant researchers, certified crop advisors and farmers.