The Franklin Research and Demonstration Farm in central Illinois is a case study for using working farms to study water quality, soil health, and agricultural outreach. The farm demonstrates various conservation practices like wetlands, cover crops, and prairie restoration and monitors their impacts on nutrient runoff and soil carbon levels. Over 100 tours have been given at the farm since 2005 to educate farmers, scientists, and officials on conservation. The long-term data collected will help inform best practices for improving water quality and soil health.

1. The Franklin Research and Demonstration Farm: a case study for the value
of demonstration farms for water quality science, soil health, and outreach
K. G. Kirkham1, A. M. Lemke1, A. R. Maybanks1, J. R. Kraft2, K. L. Bohnhoff3, D. A. Kovacic4, M. P. Wallace4.
1The Nature Conservancy, Peoria, Illinois. 2McLean County Soil and Water District, Normal, Illinois. 3Macon County Natural Resources Conservation Service, Decatur, Illinois.
4University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

2. Drivers for implementing agricultural conservation
practices

3. Land Use
Corn
Soybean
Forested
Grassland
Developed
Mackinaw River Watershed
730,000 acres
c
Illinois River
Mississippi River
Franklin Research &
Demonstration Farm
Paired Watershed
Project
Bloomington Drinking
Watersheds Project

4. Brief History of the Franklin Research and
Demonstration Farm
• Family owned over 160 years
• For the first 100 years, the Farm was
primarily a cattle operation, managed by
Noah Franklin.
• During the 1960s, the Franklin family
converted several acres of the property to
row crop agriculture. A family cabin and
several barns on the property were built
during this time.

5. N
Demonstrate many conservation practices on a working farm

6. Inlet
Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 3
Tile
3% 3% 3%
6%
9%
Monitor
nutrients
& flow
Monitor
nutrients
& flow
Monitor
nutrients
& flow
Monitor
nutrients
& flow
How well does a wetland perform?
What size of wetland is most effective at reducing nutrients in tile runoff?
3% 6% 9%

7. East
Gully
West
0
20
40
60
80
100
3 6 9
0
20
40
60
80
100
3 6 9
200
600
1000
1400
1800
Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N)
A.
C.
40
80
120
160
0
Orthophosphorus (ORP)
B.
D.
Wetland to drainage area ratio
Percentreductionin
nutrientloadings
Totalloadings(kg)
2007-2015
12-24%
36-44%
45-48%
45-77%
50-88% 31-93%
Nine-year monitoring results

8. Cover Crops: 2011-Present
1. How do winter cover crops influence nutrient export from tile-drained farmland?
2. Effectiveness of bundled in-field and edge of field practices
N
USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant : 2012-2016

9. Cover Crops: Seed type and application
• Modified RoGator (2011)
• No-till Drill (2012)
• Aerial (2013-present)
Annual ryegrass and oats
Cereal rye and radish Annual ryegrass
Pennycress

10. • Weather, timing were biggest factors for
cover crop success
• Ask for help: Natural Resources
Conservation Service, Conservation
Cropping Seminars (IDOA), Midwest
Cover Crop Council tool, Soil Health
Partnership (Jim Iserman)

11. Cover Crop Measures
• Visual cover estimates performed
during fall and spring (9 total transects,
10 random samples per transect)
• Biweekly soil temperatures at 4” and
8” depths during spring thaw through
planting
• Next steps: 1) Determine relationship
between cover estimates and water
quality; 2) Correlate cover estimates to
soils data

12. Soil sampling areas on the Franklin Farm
West field: No cover crops
East field: Cover crops

13. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Cover Crop No Cover Crop
Total Soil Organic Matter (%)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Cover crop No cover crop
S. Wood, 2017
S. Armstrong, 2012
M. Lemke, 2013

14. 0
5
10
15
20
25
Particulate C Mineral-associated C
mggsoil-1
Soil Organic Matter Carbon Fractions
Cover Crop No Cover Crop
S. Wood, 2017
• Differences in SOM between CC and no CC is being driven by differences in the
mineral-associated pool (clay, silt, associated organic matter).
• Cover crops are building up carbon by increasing root deposition belowground, which
is getting stabilized onto soil minerals (no difference in above ground plant litter).
• Assumes that the texture differences between the two sides of the field are the same.

15. 0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Particulate N Mineral-associated N
mggsoil-1
Soil Organic Matter N Fractions
Cover Crop No Cover Crop
S. Wood, 2017

16. N
Prairie
restoration
Field borders
Floodplain
wetlands
Grassed waterways
Savanna
restoration
Demonstration
Farm

17. Outreach
• Since 2005, close to 100 tours have
been conducted at the Farm for
landowners, producers, university
students, scientists, partners, staff,
and elected officials.

18. Open House Events: 2009, 2011 and 2012

19. Media Features and Presentation Audiences
Media
Illinois AgriNews
Prairie Farmer
Pantagraph
WGLT
WJBC AM 1230; FM93.7
USDA-NRCS News Release
McLean County Chamber of Commerce
TNC National Magazine
WEEK News 25
Peoria Journal Star
Farm Journal
The State Journal Register
Illinois Farm Bureau
Conservation Technology Information Center
Purdue University
Illinois Issues
Outdoor Illinois
NPR WCBU
Conservation Science
Cass County Star Gazette
Successful Farming Magazine
PBS
National Corn Growers Association
Presentations
Soil and Water Conservation Society
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
USEPA Nutrient and Point Sources Workshop
Illinois River Coordinating Council
Emiquon Symposium
Bradley University
Illinois State University
University of Illinois
Biodiversity Metrics Meeting of the Field to Market Sustainable
Agricultural Alliance
Notre Dame University
Geological Society of America
Appalachian State University
Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration
Indiana Water Resources Association Conference
Midwest Natural Resources Group
Illinois River Governor’s Conference
Vital Lands Summit
Auburn University
Loyola University
University of Maringa, Brazil
Joint Meeting of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
Society for Freshwater Science

20. American water plantain
Alisma subcordatum
Broadleaf arrowhead
Sagittaria latifolia
Great blue lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
If you build it, they
will come!

21. Wildlife photographed
at the Franklin
Research and
Demonstration Farm
Photo Credits: Tim Lindenbaum
Red fox kits
Vulpes vulpes
Spiny softshell turtle
Apalone spinifera
Baltimore oriole
Icterus galbula
Cedar waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
American bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Widow skimmer
Libellula luctuosa
Mallard, northern pintail, wood duck, and hooded mergansers
Anas platyrhynchos, Anas acuta, Aix sponsa, Lophodytes cucullatus

22. Mother Nature will flood it
A farmer will mow over it
Algae will clog it
But also, if you build it….

23. THANK YOU!Collaborators, Partners and Funding Sources:
Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS)
Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD)
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (UIUC)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)/Walton Family Foundation
City of Bloomington, Illinois
World Wildlife Foundation
Private landowners and producers
Illinois State University (ISU)
Monsanto
DuPont -Pioneer
Lumpkin Family Foundation
Soil Health Partnership (NCGA)
AGREM LLC
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Southern Illinois University (SIU)
Ducks Unlimited (DU)
Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS)
Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS)
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Kellogg Foundation; Mackinaw River Partnership

24. Thank you!

25. East
Gully
West
0
20
40
60
80
100
3 6 9
0
20
40
60
80
100
3 6 9
200
600
1000
1400
1800
Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N)
A.
C.
40
80
120
160
0
Orthophosphorus (ORP)
B.
D.
Wetland to drainage area ratio
Percentreductionin
nutrientloadings
Totalloadings(kg)
2007-2015