The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced application details of the 2025 Fall Covers for Spring Savings Cover Crop Incentive Program. Pre-enrollment opens 8am Wednesday December 4 and final submissions will be accepted starting 8am Monday December 16. A total of 190,000 acres are available (of which 40,000 acres are thanks Read more…
Ashley Curran, Grants Manager for the Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts, sends an update on grants the association is working on in service of our local SWCDs and our efforts towards healthy soil and cleaner water . . . NRCS-SWCD Contribution Agreement Extension – FY25 is off Read more…
The University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Experience features a two-year documentary project by Rich Saal telling the stories of 10 individuals who have spent their lives farming in the Sangamon River Valley. You can see a trailer of the presentation on YouTube, and more details on the project on the Read more…
The Kane-DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District held the second installment of their Women in Agriculture networking and educational series Friday November 1, 2024 in Kane County. About 30 people gathered for an opportunity to learn about starting or expanding an agriculture business or farm and to network. This event Read more…
By Ryan Arch “What’s in it for me?” It’s a fair question, isn’t it? And I can tell you as an executive director of an Association for 9 years, it’s also a question I get fairly often. While the short answer is “more than you can imagine,” I’ll do my Read more…
The AISWCD Forestry Committee and Illinois Extension 4-H are partnering again for a fourth year of statewide tree planting to take place in the spring of 2025. This effort continues to utilize the strengths of the statewide network of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the educational and youth Read more…
Community members visited Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District Wednesday to acknowledge Burke Davies’ four decades of service in the field of conservation agriculture. Burke has served as resource coordinator for the district in Salem since August 1987, and his agriculture life has included everything from walking beans, reclaiming Read more…
The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD), a 501(c)4 organization, is seeking an experienced, dynamic, and mission focused individual to serve as the next executive director. STORY The AISWCD was established in 1948 as a non-profit organization with the mission to promote and advocate for the responsible Read more…
Precision Conservation Management and PepsiCo are asking SWCDs to spread the word about their cost-share program – an opportunity for farmers to get paid for new and old cover crops, reduced tillage, and/or reduced nitrogen rates. In Illinois, this opportunity is available in the following counties: Ogle, LaSalle, Lee, DeKalb, Read more…
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced they will accept sealed bids this fall for about 30 agricultural lease contracts for crop years 2025-2029. IDNR utilizes agricultural leases as a tool to support wildlife populations and recreational opportunities at sites owned or managed by the agency. The leases developed Read more…