Champaign County Soil & Water Conservation District - Revolutionizing Conservation
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From the 2020 NACD Annual Meeting. S.T.A.R. (Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources) is an innovative program that provides a free evaluation tool to increase stewardship on farms through outreach and technical assistance. S.T.A.R. evaluates and verifies adoption of field-level conservation practices and encourages continuous improvement through value chain incentives.
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Champaign County Soil & Water Conservation District - Revolutionizing Conservation
- 1. 1 Steve Stierwalt President of Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts Bruce Henrikson S.T.A.R. Program Coordinator, Champaign Cty. SWCD REVOLUTIONIZING CONSERVATION
- 3. WHAT IS S.T.A.R.? Local resource concerns Based on farmer/rancher practices Individual fields Evaluate Verification Recognition Conservation drivers
- 4. WHY WAS S.T.A.R. CREATED? Two concerned farmers Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) Voluntary solution to local natural resource concerns GULF HYPOXIC ZONE
- 5. WHY?
- 6. HOW DOES S.T.A.R. WORK? 1. Field Form completed for individual fields for a given crop year. 2. Points assigned for each practice. 3. Summary of points convert to a S.T.A.R. Rating of 1 to 5 stars. FREE! Frequently Asked Questions
- 8. Science Committee of S.T.A.R. Dr. Emily Bruner…American Farmland Trust Erin Bush…………Resource Conservationist, CCSWCD Lowell Gentry…...Principal Research Specialist in Agriculture, NRES, University of Illinois Doug Gucker…….Extension Educator, University of Illinois Dan Schaefer…….Director of Nutrient Stewardship, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association Eric Miller………..Piatt County farmer and NREC Research Cooperator Dr. Emerson Nafziger......Crop Production, ACES, University of IL
- 11. 2019 S.T.A.R. Rating Scale 40+ = 5 Stars 32-39 = 4 Stars 23-31 = 3 Stars 16-22 = 2 Stars 0-15 = 1 Star Henry Jones = 26 pts.
- 12. + 7 + 4 + 4 + 7 35 42 Example 2 Example 3 = 4 = 5 - 3 + 5 + 1 + 2
- 13. How to Participate in S.T.A.R.? Go to www.starfreetool.com
- 14. Benefits of S.T.A.R. • Decreases nutrient & soil sediment losses • Assist producers in securing state cost share • Positive image of agriculture • Inspire other farmers and landowners • Promotes producers for new farmland leases • Market incentives for sustainably grown crops • Support of local sanitary groups
- 15. Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District Contracts with farmers to haul off sludge Will pay 0.05% over the base fee for EACH S.T.A.R. Rating Purpose is to motivate farmers to use management practices that will help meet the NLRS goals
- 16. What are YOUR resource concerns? How can S.T.A.R. help with those?
- 17. 61 counties in Illinois Iowa and Missouri (MOU) 2 counties in Indiana Endorsed by the NACD North Central Region: MN, MI, IN, OH, and WI Expansion S.T.A.R.
- 19. ADM Example: Goal for “targeted area” 2023 = 25% 3-Star Rating 2028 = 50% 3-Star Rating & 25% 5-Star Rating Kellogg’s (Bunge market area): $5,000 Mini-grants
- 20. Illinois S.T.A.R. Supporters/Partners ADM – pilot program committed to using S.T.A.R. across 350,000 acres American Farmland Trust (AFT) Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD) – endorsement Farm Credit Illinois - provided $1,000 for field signs ($5,000 more in 2020) Illinois Certified Crop Advisors Illinois Corn Growers Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) – endorsement, requirement for cost-share Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction (NLRS) Strategy Committee Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) Kellogg – with Bunge, provided $5,000 to six counties for S.T.A.R. promotion The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Precision Conservation Management (PCM) Soil Health Partnership (SHP) Soil and Water Conservation Districts Interested crop production retailers Various watershed project groups Interested county Farm Bureaus Syngenta Bayer
- 21. What industry has to say about S.T.A.R.: Positives Practices are locally adapted Metrics are practice vs outcome based Leverages existing infrastructure – SWCD Management by non-commercial third party Includes soil conservation and soil health Initiative could move globally
- 22. Industry questions about S.T.A.R.: Can it be a national program? What are implementation steps to other U.S. states? Digitization… PWA or API to recordkeeping structure Can it expand to include water quality? Need for research to tie practices to productivity. What would it take to move globally?
- 23. Consider joining S.T.A.R as an affiliate!
- 24. Affiliate S.T.A.R. Science Committee develops Field Form State affiliate grants local implementation licenses State affiliate implements verification State affiliate compiles & reports data State affiliate establishes and maintains Steering Committee and Science Committee Determine local resource concerns Licensees evaluate completed Field Form Licensees recognize growers Random Field Form verification Farmers Champaign Co. Soil & Water Conservation District S.T.A.R. Affiliate Role
- 25. THANK YOU! Questions and comments?
- 27. Determine local resource concerns Evaluate completed Field Form Recognize grower Verify Field Form data Farmers Science Committee Implementing S.T.A.R. Local Licensees
- 28. Participation by Crop Year 2017 2018 2019 Farmers/Owners = 78 181 ? Fields = 104 439 ? Acres = 7,500 27,505 ? Licensed Counties = 2 34 64
- 29. 2018 Ratings 5 Star Fields = 89 = 20 % 4 Star Fields = 171 = 39 % 3 Star Fields = 122 = 28 % 2 Star Fields = 35 = 8 % 1 Star Field = 22 = 5 % 7 87%
Editor's Notes
- My name is Bruce Henrikson. I serve as the STAR Program Coordinator with the Champaign County Soil & Water Conservation District in Champaign, Illinois. The purpose of this presentation is to explain STAR… a tool designed to help farmers and farmland owners evaluate how their management practices can reduce soil and nutrient losses and improve soil health. STAR was the idea of two farmers, Joe Rothermel and Steve Stierwalt, both serving on the board of directors of the Champaign County Soil Conservation District, and was further developed by the Stewardship Committee of that organization. The program officially began in April of 2017 and is trademarked and owned by the District.
- STEVE: What does it mean to “Revolutionize Conservation?” What is the revolution that I believe is already here? A “revolution” can be defined as a “radical or complete change.” My concern is that the vast majority of my generation still consider the use of conservation practices as a “nice thing to do” but feel little or no pressure to change. Generations growing up now are very comfortable that conservation is not optional, they are demanding it! At every level of government and industry, the people in charge are trying to respond! New Legislation is being proposed most every day. The latest major effort is entitled H2Ohio, a program that is spending millions of $ to reduce phosphorus runoff and improve the quality of water in Ohio. Every major agriculture and food business has developed goals that include sustainability, whether that means purchasing commodities grown sustainably or selling products that are processed with sustainable practices. We believe that industry involvement is beginning to “revolutionize” how conservation gets done. SWCD’S and others have always “pushed” conservation. As the Ag industry players start to implement “their” conservation plan, they are introducing new market forces. These new forces are starting to “pull” conservation, which has the potential to completely change the game. As farmers choose to adopt conservation practices to qualify for a market opportunity, those practice changes can become long term! Does your company have a plan? Are there business opportunities available to retailers that are positioned to respond as conservation and sustainable practices become the “new normal” in the not so distant future? How will you respond when your customers are impacted by this conservation wave that continues to build? I make no claim to have answers to the business decisions, YOU are the experts on that! Bruce and I are here to help prepare you for this revolution that has started. Government and Industry here in Illinois are starting to use the S.T.A.R. Initiative. This year, anyone who wants cost share $ from the Partners for Conservation Program in the Illinois Department Of Ag, will be required to fill out a S.T.A.R. form. ADM in the Tuscola area is asking all their farmer customers on 350,000 acres to complete field forms and have establish specific goals for those customers to reach certain Star Rating levels. The Kellogg company sources much of their grain through Bunge elevators in the east central Illinois area and have asked their customers to participate. Kellogg has already provided $5,000 mini-grants to a number of Soil and Water offices to promote STAR. Several major seed companies have committed to use STAR in pilot projects this year for future consideration of large scale use. Our goal today is not to bring you more work! We want to give you a working knowledge of S.T.A.R. so that you can respond confidently to your customers questions.
- Starting with question one … what exactly is the ST.A.R. program? Simply put, S.T.A.R is a FREE tool to assist farm operators and landowners to evaluate their nutrient and soil loss management practices on individual fields and to promote “conservation management practices”. What was the genesis for S.T.A.R.? Two farmers in central Illinois, Steve Stierwalt and Joe Rothermel, conceived the idea for this program, as an actionable vehicle to do something meaningful towards agricultural conservation and hopefully encourage others to do so, as well. Illinois as you may know, along with other midwestern states, continues to be a major contributor to nutrient runoff issues that load the watersheds and rivers of the region, and contribute to significant environmental issues downstream. Most notably, these include the Gulf Hypoxic Zone and algae blooms of that corner of the country. There continues to be clear recognition that we need to reduce nutrient losses and soil erosion, no matter the source and the cause. There are many conservation and nutrient management practices that are considered as “best” on cropland in Illinois and the Midwest. The use of those practices have measurably contributed to saving our agriculture resources for the future, but more needs to be done! The STAR program will help farmers and landowners to meet the goals of the agriculture sector, and similarly, those of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. This strategy was developed by the administrative agencies of the State of Illinois to guide efforts to improve water quality at home and downstream by reducing nitrogen and phosphorus levels in our lakes, streams, and rivers. The program aims to encourage farm operators and landowners to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus losses by altering the timing of the application of nutrients so it occurs when the plants need them, and by adopting the use of cover crops, and by preventing soil losses by reducing tillage.
- STEVE: WHY was S.T.A.R. created? Steve and Joe are concerned that many of their neighbors do not seem to use many of the practices that help with the conservation of farmland. It is obvious to all of you that if farmers and farmland owners do not improve the practices that are contributing to the environmental problems caused by agriculture, the government WILL add regulations, as they have in Delaware and Ohio. I believe it is much better if we voluntarily make some changes that can improve those issues. The existence of these issues has already led the EPA and the Illinois Department of Agriculture to develop the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy to guide efforts to improve water quality at home and downstream by reducing nitrogen and phosphorus levels in our lakes, streams, and rivers. You are all fully aware that those environmental issues have been connected directly to the Gulf Hypoxic Zone as shown in this image of the delta region. This is also a picture of the future of agriculture production… and YOUR future. The threat to the environment is real.. And so is the threat to how we farm! STAR can help decision makers to learn what changes in their practices can reduce nutrient losses.
- Starting with question one … what exactly is the ST.A.R. program? Simply put, S.T.A.R is a FREE tool to assist farm operators and landowners to evaluate their nutrient and soil loss management practices on individual fields and to promote “conservation management practices”. What was the genesis for S.T.A.R.? Two farmers in central Illinois, Steve Stierwalt and Joe Rothermel, conceived the idea for this program, as an actionable vehicle to do something meaningful towards agricultural conservation and hopefully encourage others to do so, as well. Illinois as you may know, along with other midwestern states, continues to be a major contributor to nutrient runoff issues that load the watersheds and rivers of the region, and contribute to significant environmental issues downstream. Most notably, these include the Gulf Hypoxic Zone and algae blooms of that corner of the country. There continues to be clear recognition that we need to reduce nutrient losses and soil erosion, no matter the source and the cause. There are many conservation and nutrient management practices that are considered as “best” on cropland in Illinois and the Midwest. The use of those practices have measurably contributed to saving our agriculture resources for the future, but more needs to be done! The STAR program will help farmers and landowners to meet the goals of the agriculture sector, and similarly, those of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. This strategy was developed by the administrative agencies of the State of Illinois to guide efforts to improve water quality at home and downstream by reducing nitrogen and phosphorus levels in our lakes, streams, and rivers. The program aims to encourage farm operators and landowners to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus losses by altering the timing of the application of nutrients so it occurs when the plants need them, and by adopting the use of cover crops, and by preventing soil losses by reducing tillage.
- The image depicted here shows the points system used in the evaluation system. The conservation management practices and the corresponding amount of points associated with each practice were developed by the program’s “Science Advisory Committee”, which is composed of university researchers and other technical experts. The 2019 Field Form has been enhanced to even more closely align with the goals of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy mentioned earlier.
- The decisions to identify the best management practices and the points to be assigned for each practice were determined by a special “Science Committee,” identified here. As mentioned earlier, there was a significant effort in making sure that the 2019 Field Form is much better aligned with the goals of the NLRS. We very much appreciate the work done by Lowell Gentry, Doug Gucker, Dan Schaefer, Eric Miller, Dr. Emerson Nafziger, Brett Roberts, Dr. Emily Bruner, Joe Rothermel, and Erin Bush.
- This is an sample Field Form for Henry Jones, a fake name with all MADE UP entries for a corn field. This slide shows only the TOP half of the form. He used no cover crops, so there would be 0 points for Section 9. There is a maximum of 12 possible points for Cover Crops. He has his soil sampled every 4 years… that earns 2 points… and has those pulled in the spring, worth 1 extra point compared to fall. Also, he has it done by a retailer who uses GPS for taking the samples that earns another point. In section 11, Henry had applied some DAP before December 1st that earned 1 point, but indicated he used NO other nitrogen in that time period and is given 4 points for that good practice. In section 14 he shows his crop rotation history which has been a traditional corn-soybean rotation. He received 2 points for that approach as it is a good agronomic practice and considered better than a continuous crop. It is particularly better for soil health to NOT have a monoculture… so a continuous cash crop of 3 years or more is given 0 points. Section 15 allows the participant to identify the tillage used in both fall and spring. Henry Jones is like too many farmers in that he did some light tillage on his bean stubble in the fall. Because it was a very shallow disturbance of less than 3 inches, he was given 1 point. Any kind of tillage on bean stubble in the fall increases the chances of soil and, therefore, nutrient losses on that field, so there was a 3 point penalty for that poor practice! The good news is that he used NO tillage in the spring… and earned 5 points for that good practice.
- Mr. Jones applied all of his nitrogen, other than the DAP, in the spring. So in Section 12, he checked that at least 75% of the nitrogen was applied in this time period earning 2 points, and also checked that at least 25% of that nitrogen was side-dressed and earned 2 more points. Assume he applied 190 pounds per acre of actual nitrogen counting all sources. As a result, Section 13 includes 2 points for keeping his total nitrogen applied at a rate of 181 to 200 pounds per acre. Keeping that rate below 181 pounds would have earned even more points. He could have also earned more points by using Triple Super instead of the DAP…. or applying any of the fertilizer using VRT. It is also very good that he did NOT apply the DAP or any fertilizer on frozen or snow covered ground. That would have scored significantly more negative points! Section 16 has a number of conservation and management practices that can be very positive, even if they do not all directly reduce nutrient and/or soil losses. The Science Committee recognizes those items, many of which are edge of field practices, indicate an effort to better manage for conservation practices. Henry Jones got 2 points because that specific field had a grass waterway. He cares enough about conservation and potential nutrient losses to attend a nutrient management meeting or a field day within the last year. He also worked with his retailer, who is a Certified Crop Advisor, to develop a WRITTEN plan for the 2019 Crop Year. He was given 1 points for each of those. The maximum points possible for this section is 8. The total points for Mr. Jones are 27 positive points and 3 negative points for a net of 24 points!
- This is the scale for assigning STAR ratings that was determined by the Science Committee for the 2019 crop year. Henry Jones’ field with 24 points was therefore given a 3 Star Rating.
- It important to know that a few changes, or even one small change, in the practices used for any field can make a difference in the Star Rating. For example: In Version 2 of Henry Jones’ Field Form, let’s assume he used Cereal Rye as a cover crop… which earned 7 points. He terminated it, but did so before he planted that field in the spring. Lets also assume that he applied some phosphorus with the planter, so it was banded subsurface, which earned 4 more points in Section 13. The total went from 24 to 35 points…. which means the field now has a 4 Star rating. In Version 3, the only change from the previous assumptions was in the Fall tillage practices. If he used no tillage, he would get 5 points for that practice. But he would not get the 1 point for shallow tillage, but also he did not lose the 3 points for working the bean stubble. So his total went from 35 points in version 2… to 42 points in this version.. which means this field is now rated at 5 Stars.
- There are a number of ways for a farmer or landowner to access the application process to participate in STAR. The email address here and on your flyer is www.starfreetool.com That website actually has all of the methods listed and explained.
- Shown here are some of the potential benefits of using the program… … Read Slide … Please note at the bottom the last two dot points. These touch on one of our key concepts – engaging CONSERVATION DRIVERS. The STAR program has had numerous conversations with a number of companies representing the market and supply side of agriculture. In 2018, ADM launched a pilot program using the system with several its contractual growers. You can read more on this, by visiting the program website at starfreetool.com.
- There are a number of ways for a farmer or landowner to access the application process to participate in STAR. The email address here and on your flyer is www.starfreetool.com That website actually has all of the methods listed and explained.
- There are a number of ways for a farmer or landowner to access the application process to participate in STAR. The email address here and on your flyer is www.starfreetool.com That website actually has all of the methods listed and explained.
- STEVE: What does it mean to “Revolutionize Conservation?” What is the revolution that I believe is already here? A “revolution” can be defined as a “radical or complete change.” My concern is that the vast majority of my generation still consider the use of conservation practices as a “nice thing to do” but feel little or no pressure to change. Generations growing up now are very comfortable that conservation is not optional, they are demanding it! At every level of government and industry, the people in charge are trying to respond! New Legislation is being proposed most every day. The latest major effort is entitled H2Ohio, a program that is spending millions of $ to reduce phosphorus runoff and improve the quality of water in Ohio. Every major agriculture and food business has developed goals that include sustainability, whether that means purchasing commodities grown sustainably or selling products that are processed with sustainable practices. We believe that industry involvement is beginning to “revolutionize” how conservation gets done. SWCD’S and others have always “pushed” conservation. As the Ag industry players start to implement “their” conservation plan, they are introducing new market forces. These new forces are starting to “pull” conservation, which has the potential to completely change the game. As farmers choose to adopt conservation practices to qualify for a market opportunity, those practice changes can become long term! Does your company have a plan? Are there business opportunities available to retailers that are positioned to respond as conservation and sustainable practices become the “new normal” in the not so distant future? How will you respond when your customers are impacted by this conservation wave that continues to build? I make no claim to have answers to the business decisions, YOU are the experts on that! Bruce and I are here to help prepare you for this revolution that has started. Government and Industry here in Illinois are starting to use the S.T.A.R. Initiative. This year, anyone who wants cost share $ from the Partners for Conservation Program in the Illinois Department Of Ag, will be required to fill out a S.T.A.R. form. ADM in the Tuscola area is asking all their farmer customers on 350,000 acres to complete field forms and have establish specific goals for those customers to reach certain Star Rating levels. The Kellogg company sources much of their grain through Bunge elevators in the east central Illinois area and have asked their customers to participate. Kellogg has already provided $5,000 mini-grants to a number of Soil and Water offices to promote STAR. Several major seed companies have committed to use STAR in pilot projects this year for future consideration of large scale use. Our goal today is not to bring you more work! We want to give you a working knowledge of S.T.A.R. so that you can respond confidently to your customers questions.
- As S.T.A.R. has evolved… and as we have sought to find more reasons to motivate farmers to participate, we have encouraged various supply chain businesses to use this tool to help them meet their firm’s goals of providing sustainable products. Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur purchases their grain through elevators in Douglas, Moultrie, Macon and other counties. They are promoting STAR by asking all farmers who market grain to them to complete a form for each of their fields. They have established goals for their farmer participants to have 25% of the fields earn a 3 Star Rating by 2023 and increase the 3-Star Rated fields to 50% by 2028 and have at least 25% of the fields to be rated at 5 Stars by that year. In July of 2019, Kellogg’s offered $5,000 mini-grants to the Soil & Water Districts that had a License Agreement and were in the east central Illinois counties from which Bunge draws in grain.
- I won’t read the name of every supporter on this list, but will instead highlight some of the major ones. ADM has asked all of their contracted farmers with about 350,000 acres, to submit field forms. Kellogg has asked their Bunge elevators to have their farmer customers do the same and provided six $5,000 mini-grants to county Soil & Water offices to help promote the program. PCM is supported by the IL Corn Growers Association and has an access point to our field form through their portal. The Syngenta soybean plant at Pekin will be asking their farmer growers to participate and Bayer is planning to do the same at some of their locations.
- As S.T.A.R. has evolved… and as we have sought to find more reasons to motivate farmers to participate, we have encouraged various supply chain businesses to use this tool to help them meet their firm’s goals of providing sustainable products. Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur purchases their grain through elevators in Douglas, Moultrie, Macon and other counties. They are promoting STAR by asking all farmers who market grain to them to complete a form for each of their fields. They have established goals for their farmer participants to have 25% of the fields earn a 3 Star Rating by 2023 and increase the 3-Star Rated fields to 50% by 2028 and have at least 25% of the fields to be rated at 5 Stars by that year. In July of 2019, Kellogg’s offered $5,000 mini-grants to the Soil & Water Districts that had a License Agreement and were in the east central Illinois counties from which Bunge draws in grain.
- Describe local implementation process - Implementers are franchisees of the state affiliate
- STAR has completed two crop years. The 2018 Crop Year submissions included field forms completed between July 1st, 2018 and about March 31st, 2019. We had 181 participants from 40 different counties complete at least one form. The 436 fields evaluated totaled over 27,000 acres. The results shown here were above our goals, and they also indicate the system seems to work well in balancing the ratings with the practices used. To be clear, an “average” farmer in Illinois may very well have fields that are rated with 1 Star. Every time a farmer adds some good practices, there is the potential to add to the Star rating. We realize the higher ratings seemed to be more common, but we know that farmers who use the better practices are also the ones who most likely will complete forms. About 90% of the fields submitted for the 2018 year were done after January 1, 2019. It was the first Crop Year for ALL but one of the Licensed counties, and the majority of those signed up after January 1.
- STAR has completed two crop years. The 2018 Crop Year submissions included field forms completed between July 1st, 2018 and about March 31st, 2019. We had 181 participants from 40 different counties complete at least one form. The 436 fields evaluated totaled over 27,000 acres. The results shown here were above our goals, and they also indicate the system seems to work well in balancing the ratings with the practices used. To be clear, an “average” farmer in Illinois may very well have fields that are rated with 1 Star. Every time a farmer adds some good practices, there is the potential to add to the Star rating. We realize the higher ratings seemed to be more common, but we know that farmers who use the better practices are also the ones who most likely will complete forms. About 90% of the fields submitted for the 2018 year were done after January 1, 2019. It was the first Crop Year for ALL but one of the Licensed counties, and the majority of those signed up after January 1.