IFCA manages the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices "Keep it for the Crop (KIC)" program.  Click here to be directed to the IFCA website, where we have posted an update on the KIC program, featuring the investment ag retailers and their farmer customers are making in implementing the 4Rs in Illinois.  The KIC program is funded by the Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council (NREC).  Also featured on the IFCA website is a 30 page Agriculture & Water Quality Report.  IFCA helped to write this report, and we have provided it to IEPA and other nutrient stakeholders to illustrate the dynamics of Illinois agriculture and the programs we have worked diligently to implement and fund to address water quality issues.  If nothing else, please read Chapters 6 and 7; they provide an excellent overview of programs like KIC and NREC, and how they are working together to ensure agriculture's leadership on nutrient issues.

 

The challenges facing agriculture on nutrient use continue to grow.  Ohio is considering legislation to require all persons who apply fertilizer on more than 50 acres to be licensed by the State (farmers are not exempt).  Ohio is also embarking upon a 4R certification program for retailers who provide nutrient services to farmers.  As each individual states grapples with the pressures to reduce nutrient losses, we must continue here in Illinois to ensure that IFCA members are educated and engaged, and promote managing nitrogen and phosphorus to "Keep it for the Crop".  Please contact Dan Schaefer at dschaefer@illinoiscbmp.org if you are interested or have questions about getting involved in on-farm nitrogen rate trials, the N-WATCH program and managing nitrogen as a system, all of which are explained in the KIC report.  And thank you all for supporting NREC, which provides financial stabililty to enable research and education programs that ensure that Illinois agriculture retains ownership of nutrient management in our state.