Latest / The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Podcast / Episode 58 | Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy 2023 Biennial Report Update
Transcript
- Episode 58 | Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy 2023 Biennial Report Update 00:00:07:03 - 00:00:49:07 Todd Gleason This is the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy podcast. Episode 58, the 2023 biennial Report Update. I'm University of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason. You know, the loss of nutrients in Illinois lakes, streams, and rivers harms water quality here and downstream all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, or NLRS, was established in 2015 and designed to reduce the nutrient load in the Illinois waterways and the Mississippi River, and its negative impacts by exploring and recommending practical, research based nutrient loss practices and collaborating with partners across the state. 00:00:49:09 - 00:01:28:27 Todd Gleason This podcast is part of that partnership. Now the 2023 and last biennial report now available at go.illinois.edu backslash NLRS, I'll repeat that in a moment, is the latest update to the strategy. It documents water quality updates and initiatives that reduce the loss of the nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus across three sectors: agricultural, wastewater treatment facilities, and urban stormwater. Again, you can find the biennial report at go.illinois.edu backslash NLRS. Today we'll explore some of those sectors. 00:01:28:27 - 00:01:45:26 Todd Gleason We'll start with Trevor Sample. He's at the Illinois EPA the Environmental Protection Agency in the state. And he's the coordinator of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy there. I asked him to again explain just exactly what the NLRS is and how it was put together. 00:01:45:28 - 00:01:53:26 Trevor Sample So the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy was released in 2015. It was developed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. 00:01:54:03 - 00:02:10:08 Trevor Sample The Illinois Department of Agriculture and University of Illinois, with input provided by a diverse group of stakeholders representing agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, conservation and environmental organizations, and state and federal agencies and industry. 00:02:10:10 - 00:02:12:10 Todd Gleason Exactly why was it put together? 00:02:12:18 - 00:02:32:02 Trevor Sample The strategy was in response to the hypoxia Task Force Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that was released in 2008. In 2011, US EPA released a memo directing states to develop state nutrient strategies that would reach the goal of reducing the amount of nitrogen phosphorus discharged to the Gulf of Mexico by 45%. 00:02:32:05 - 00:02:57:15 Trevor Sample The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy also has set interim goals of 15% reduction nitrate and 25% reduction of total phosphorus by 2025. The strategy addresses nutrient loss from three main sectors. Non-point source, which is agriculture runoff or stream bank erosion. Point sources, which consist of wastewater treatment plants and urban stormwater. 00:02:57:17 - 00:03:01:07 Todd Gleason What's the purpose of the biennial reports that are released? 00:03:01:10 - 00:03:12:04 Trevor Sample The purpose of the Biennial report is providing an update to the public on the progress made in implementing the strategy, and also provides the mechanism for updating the strategy itself so it remains a living document. 00:03:12:11 - 00:03:21:16 Todd Gleason Can you share some key points of that biennial report for me, as it relates to the point source sector? And maybe you should define that as well. 00:03:21:18 - 00:03:50:20 Trevor Sample Sure. So a point source, is, source of pollution that comes from a discernable point. It's actually defined in the Clean Water Act. Usually any type of wastewater is discharged to a, stream or river or lake. It comes from a source such as a pipe. So one of the highlights of the points or sector for this biennial report is that the point source sector has achieved a combined statewide reduction of 6.2 million pounds of phosphorus. 00:03:50:22 - 00:04:19:18 Trevor Sample From 2011 to 2022. This represents a 34% reduction, which exceeds the 25% reduction goal, by 2025. That was set in the nutrient loss reduction strategy report. The baseline low was 18.1 million pounds in 2011, and the total load for 2022 was, 11.9 million. 10.2 million pounds of that is from the 211 major municipal discharges. 00:04:19:20 - 00:04:31:23 Trevor Sample 1.3 million is estimated to come from the minor municipal. That's about 970, wastewater treatment plant facilities. And then about another 400,000 pounds comes from industrial facilities. 00:04:31:25 - 00:04:40:12 Todd Gleason So what are the requirements point sources are being asked to meet to reduce nutrient loss, and how are those goals being accomplished? 00:04:40:14 - 00:04:50:25 Trevor Sample So wastewater treatment facilities, in order to discharge wastewater, they have to have what's called a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. 00:04:50:28 - 00:05:21:29 Trevor Sample There's a Clean Water Act permit that our agency, the Illinois EPA, administers, and those permits dictate, the amount and type of pollutants that can be discharged into that wastewater. So when it comes to phosphorus, right now, the facilities are aiming to meet, 1mg/l phosphorus concentration in their discharge. And eventually that number will move to 0.5mg/l, phosphorus in their discharge. 00:05:22:01 - 00:05:55:28 Trevor Sample In Illinois, we have 211, what we call major municipal facilities. These are facilities that have a design average flow of 1 million gallons per day or more. Out of the 211, 101 facilities discharge an average phosphorus concentration 1mg/l or less. And of those, 46 are meeting a 0.5mg/l or less phosphorus discharge. So this is another metric that we use, in showing progress from the the individual point sources themselves. 00:05:56:00 - 00:06:25:03 Trevor Sample 67 individual facilities are currently completing, what are called nutrients, customer reduction plans. Most of these are due December 31st, and the remaining are due next December. And these plans will, help facilities. It's a way for facilities, to show our agency how they're going to go about reducing, phosphorus, not only from their discharge, but also within the watershed itself. 00:06:25:05 - 00:06:58:03 Trevor Sample The state wide point sources also have reduced total nitrogen loads by 11.6% from the baseline 2011 through 2022. Major municipal facilities were also required to complete and submit feasibility and optimization studies to Illinois EPA, and all of those studies have been submitted to date. Looking down the road by the end of this decade, we anticipate point source sector will achieve our long term goal of 45% reduction phosphorus and possibly even exceeding that. 00:06:58:05 - 00:07:29:05 Todd Gleason Again, that's Trevor Sample. He's the NLRS or nutrient loss reduction strategy coordinator at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. If you'd like to learn more about Illinois EPA and its involvement in the NLRS, you can search Google for Illinois EPA air, go through their website, and then look for their NLRS page. Illinois Extension is also involved in the nutrient loss reduction strategy, as you are very well likely to know. 00:07:29:08 - 00:07:32:21 Todd Gleason Eliana Brown covers the stormwater sector. 00:07:32:22 - 00:07:44:26 Eliana Brown I'm extension's water quality and stormwater specialist. Now before I was in this role, right now, I coordinated the strategy. And I still help with the stormwater aspect of it. 00:07:45:01 - 00:07:50:27 Todd Gleason What exactly is stormwater and what role, by the way, does it play in the NLRS? 00:07:51:02 - 00:08:00:27 Eliana Brown Stormwater runoff refers to rainfall and melted snow that doesn't soak into the ground because it's hitting those hard surfaces like roads, roofs, and parking lots. 00:08:01:00 - 00:08:26:29 Eliana Brown This runoff is a significant contributor of urban water pollution, carrying phosphorus and nitrogen and other things into water bodies via storm drains. The NLRS science assessment found that stormwater sectors impact on the overall nutrient load in the state, leaving the state is relatively minor compared to other sectors. However, it still poses a threat to water quality and our local lakes and rivers in Illinois. 00:08:27:01 - 00:08:33:19 Eliana Brown Consequently, stormwater runoff is addressed as an integral component of the strategy to safeguard water quality. 00:08:33:20 - 00:08:40:07 Todd Gleason Can you share some highlights, Eliana, of the 2023 Biennial Report as it relates to the storm water sector? 00:08:40:14 - 00:09:11:26 Eliana Brown So, the report highlighted the engagement of more than 8900 participants and 121 stormwater management events during the the 2122, which underscores the widespread community involvement MWRD, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, played a major role in stormwater management, investing 1.45 million in Green infrastructure program projects, thereby increasing retention capacity by more than half a million gallons. 00:09:11:28 - 00:09:55:10 Eliana Brown Their overall commitment for the 2021 Stormwater program amounted to $44.7 million. Illinois EPA's Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunities Program awarded $5 million to support 11 stormwater projects in 2021, which resulted in retention of 1.2 million gallons of stormwater and reduction of annual pollutants. They also had 14 urban stormwater best management practices covering 174 acres. Those were implemented through the Illinois EPA section 319 grant. Two last Things for it to add on this, the Illinois Groundwork website, established in 21-22, provide some valuable green infrastructure resources for growth professionals and the public. 00:09:55:12 - 00:10:03:08 Eliana Brown And there was a green infrastructure inventory map that showcased nearly 2000 stormwater best management practices across the state. 00:10:03:10 - 00:10:09:23 Todd Gleason How do you define green infrastructure and what role does it play in reducing nutrient loss? 00:10:10:00 - 00:10:25:12 Eliana Brown Oh yeah. Great question. So you know how you saying that stormwater runoff doesn't soak in green infrastructure captures that water and allows it to act more like the natural water cycle soaking in usually and or storing it for use later. 00:10:25:15 - 00:10:56:01 Eliana Brown So it refers to nature based systems designed to manage water, provide environmental benefits, and promote environmental resiliency. It uses natural processes and elements like vegetation, soil permeable surfaces that addresses water quality challenges by decreasing stormwater runoff that goes to those Illinois rivers. Practices for green infrastructure include rain gardens, bio wells, permeable pavement, green roof cisterns, and constructed stormwater wetlands. 00:10:56:02 - 00:11:06:19 Todd Gleason And finally, do you have any advice for the homeowner, the business owner, or maybe concerned community members interested in learning more about green infrastructure and its adoption? 00:11:06:21 - 00:11:24:19 Eliana Brown Sure. And you're absolutely right. Green infrastructure can be on a number of different scales. So on the scale of a residential rain garden to, a large municipal community wide construct a stormwater wetland or a series of bioswells. 00:11:24:21 - 00:11:47:23 Eliana Brown So my advice is to educate yourself about green infrastructure. You can go to go dot Illinois dot edu slash rainfall management. That's extension's page that covers these issues. There's also that Illinois groundwork.org, that website that I mentioned. And you can go there and learn more about these kinds of green infrastructure practices and the many benefits that they provide. 00:11:47:28 - 00:12:10:19 Eliana Brown You can attend some workshops and events. Rain scaping is one that we put on through extension. It's a collaboration between the University of Illinois and Purdue Extension, and it provides training and resources for green infrastructure that can be installed in that residential setting or small scale public spaces. Lastly, I'd advise people to really lead by example. Be a role model for green infrastructure adoption in your community. 00:12:10:22 - 00:12:18:08 Eliana Brown You can demonstrate positive impact on your own property. You can inspire others to follow suit and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient community. 00:12:18:16 - 00:12:38:22 Todd Gleason Elliana Brown is with Illinois Extension, she covered the urban stormwater segment of the biennial nutrient loss reduction strategy. We've also already talked about the wastewater treatment facilities. Those are both point sources. Now let's turn our attention to one of the non-point source areas agriculture. 00:12:38:22 - 00:12:47:02 Todd Gleason We're joined by Brian Rennecker. He is the Land and Water Resources Bureau chief at the Illinois Department of Agriculture. 00:12:47:05 - 00:13:05:15 Brian Rennecker I'm a third generation farmer, so I'm kind of proud of that. Actually, my grandparents, started and owned and implement dealership. So I literally grew up in the ag equipment industry. Like I used to say, my babysitter was the backseat of a tractor window when I was younger. 00:13:05:17 - 00:13:30:05 Brian Rennecker So I do have a long history in the ag sector. With with that family history and the farming big conservation guy, I've always had a connection to just conservation, regardless if it's in the ag sector or, just our or what we classify like DNR conservation. Part of my job here in ag is pollinators. And being the chief AB inspector. 00:13:30:05 - 00:13:35:24 Brian Rennecker So that really place plays is really good. The stuff that I'm really highly invested in. 00:13:35:26 - 00:13:55:27 Todd Gleason You know, the ag sector plays a really large role. In nutrients leaving the state. There's a lot of support, of course, from NLRS partner organizations to support farmers, landowners. Can you tell us a little about some about some of the projects being implemented by IDOA? 00:13:56:00 - 00:13:59:27 Todd Gleason How and how they reduce nutrient loss from the sector? 00:13:59:29 - 00:14:23:22 Brian Rennecker Sure. So we have actually one long running program here called the partners for conservation program. Basically what that is, it is a cashier program available through all 97 soil and water conservation districts. And those are for farm bill conservation projects that do not qualify. They still have to follow the farm bill engineering aspects of it. 00:14:23:22 - 00:14:45:03 Brian Rennecker When I say that either like waterways, field buffer strips, and like I said, those are for stuff that doesn't qualify for farm bill. So for example, if you just purchase a land and you've got some immediate erosion issues and you want to put in a waterway, well, you cannot that doesn't qualify for your farm bill because you need to own the land for a calendar year. 00:14:45:05 - 00:15:08:22 Brian Rennecker So every year we get funds from the General Assembly, that are facilitated through the Department of Ag for those soil and water conservation districts. The other one is for fall is going now on our fifth year, the fall covers for spring savings. That program started, five years ago at 50,000 acres, and now we've built it up to 140,000 acres. 00:15:08:25 - 00:15:16:20 Brian Rennecker And it's been highly successful. And with cover crops, that is the cheapest and fastest way to keep your soil anchored. 00:15:16:25 - 00:15:23:07 Todd Gleason Can you share some of the key points, from the most recent biennial report on the ag sector? 00:15:23:09 - 00:15:36:17 Brian Rennecker Sure. So there's some some good points that are coming out of this. I think one thing that addresses is just the education aspect and outreach of what the nutrient loss is and its goals. 00:15:36:19 - 00:16:13:18 Brian Rennecker So out of that, just out of the ag sector, and also when I talk about government and non-government, the program reached out to those producers and their organizations, reported more than 180, 186 full time members that specifically were engaged in the activities related to implementing the strategy, and then looking at that, what they've spent. And then collectively, they expended nearly $51 million just in education and outreach for the nutrient loss reduction strategy and its goals associated with it. 00:16:13:21 - 00:16:49:12 Brian Rennecker So I think that is just a good point that says Illinois is highly invested in the nutrient loss reduction strategy and its goals. I think another good thing coming out of it, and that's conducted a survey in 2022, gave some pretty good insights into the farmer awareness and the strategy implementation levels. So out of that mass survey, it reported that 76% managed using the MR return or the maximum return to nitrogen rates, so that 70, 76% of all those surveys in 2022. 00:16:49:14 - 00:17:08:15 Brian Rennecker And out of that, 85% of them use nitrogen inhibitor for fall and winter applied anhydrous ammonia. I think that is a really, really good mark. Having that inhibitor and making sure when you do stuff during the fall that it's going to keep that anhydrous in place and not leaching out into the soil and eventually into the water. 00:17:08:17 - 00:17:18:04 Todd Gleason A couple of other questions for the day. What are some of the barriers farmers and landowners are facing as they try to adopt to more conservation practices? 00:17:18:04 - 00:17:31:27 Brian Rennecker I think one barrier is is just trying to figure out what, because right now there's a multitude of programs, state and private. I think it's just trying to figure out what best program works for what your goal is. 00:17:31:29 - 00:17:57:27 Brian Rennecker So we're trying to address that. Keep putting things into one clearinghouse, so to speak. So I'll use cover crop programs, for example. Currently there's about 14 different private and government programs that all just deal about specific funding for cover crops. So now there is a clearinghouse website that tells you what programs work with others and what don't work with others. 00:17:58:00 - 00:18:23:09 Brian Rennecker So I think that's just one barrier to addressing is kind of a static barriers like, hey, I've got I've got this, but I don't know what works with what program, what works with and what works doesn't work with the other program. And I think the other part of that is just time and labor. As we all know, during the fall when I'm going to speak against cover crops again, our priority is getting the crops out of the field. 00:18:23:12 - 00:18:50:01 Brian Rennecker That's usually 100% workforce dedication, machinery dedication, and just having a lack of workforce holistically within within AG. It's hard to find extra people to literally chase the combine and to get those crops planted in a timely fashion. Now, this year, I think we've had probably one of the best I'll call cover crop seasons in the fall because we've had a relatively dry fall. 00:18:50:04 - 00:19:12:25 Brian Rennecker Even going probably to date, we've only had a couple major rain events. The kind of slowed us down and during harvest, same way a couple rain events have slowed us down for a little bit, but I'm for seeing if this is the year for cover crops. This is definitely it. So that's allowed the farmers that didn't have that workforce in time to have the time later on the year. 00:19:12:27 - 00:19:19:23 Brian Rennecker And not be canceled by what I'll call just the onset of the rain, where it pretty well washes everything out for the remainder of the year. 00:19:19:25 - 00:19:26:18 Todd Gleason Finally, any advice you have for farmers? It's as it's related to conservation practices and adopting them. 00:19:26:18 - 00:19:33:12 Brian Rennecker Identify what you want to do and prioritize and start small. And I'm going to go right back to cover crops. 00:19:33:12 - 00:20:02:13 Brian Rennecker I think the best advice that I, I had ever heard, the multitude of conferences and speakers is find something that you like. Try it on ten, 25 acres. Don't start big because you will encounter problems, and it's always easier to deal with a small problem than a large problem. Because if you deal with a a large problem, and more than likely you won't try that that conservation practice again the following year because it was such a large headache. 00:20:02:14 - 00:20:19:24 Todd Gleason Brian Rennick is the bureau chief for land and water resources at the Illinois Department of Agriculture and involved with the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, also a farmer. We have one more farmer to talk to today that's also directly involved with the NLRS. 00:20:19:24 - 00:20:34:12 Jim Isermann Jim Isermann, I live and farm near Schrader, Illinois, with my family. I work for the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership, as well as a number of other organizations throughout the state of Illinois, kind of promoting conservation practices. 00:20:34:19 - 00:20:40:01 Todd Gleason What is your connection to the nutrient loss reduction strategy? 00:20:40:01 - 00:20:55:03 Jim Isermann So on our farm here by Streator, we raise corn, soybeans, and we have a cow calf operation. And we use, you know, strip till and no till for our tillage practices. And we try to get cover crops on most of our acres every year. So our, you know, connection is just to start off with that. 00:20:55:03 - 00:21:25:12 Jim Isermann We're we're farmers. Just the basics of, you know, having a farm and the fact that the water that falls on our farm, doesn't all end up here. It'll either run off or go through a tile system. So just realizing that we're connected to the to the systems of rivers and waterways throughout the state, and having that understanding is kind of the beginning of our connection to, to nutrient loss reduction, but also being involved with farm organizations throughout the years, such as, you know, Illinois corn, Illinois soybean Association. 00:21:25:14 - 00:21:39:22 Jim Isermann We've worked with Farm Bureau over the years being involved with the Illinois Beef Association. All of those organizations have done a pretty good job of, highlighting early on what the issues with the nutrient loss reduction strategy are and helping us be aware of them as farmers. 00:21:39:28 - 00:21:44:01 Todd Gleason What's your role with ISAP, the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership? 00:21:44:07 - 00:22:07:17 Jim Isermann Yeah. So one of the things I get to do off farm is work with the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership. And that organization was created to support the needs of the nutrient loss reduction strategy, primarily through education of farmers and farm advisors on practices that will address the needs of water quality and conservation in general. So I serve as a soil health specialist for ISAP. 00:22:07:17 - 00:22:36:13 Jim Isermann And in that role, I work primarily around education programs, including giving presentations and information on soil health that cover crop management. We have a trailer rainfall simulator that we can go around and do demonstrations of how rainfall interacts with, different types of soils and then, facilitating or helping to facilitate the advanced soil health training, which is a program that's going on for a number of years, just kind of educating more specifically farmers and advisors. 00:22:36:13 - 00:22:55:11 Jim Isermann But we're always bringing the issues of water quality and nutrient loss to the forefront of those programs and conversations. And ISAP has developed a large amount of resources on the website to help farmers, including information on conservation programs, carbon programs, in field and edge of field practices that can reduce nutrient blocks. 00:22:55:13 - 00:23:00:11 Todd Gleason Why should farmers and landowners be concerned at all about nutrient loss and water quality? 00:23:00:14 - 00:23:17:07 Jim Isermann Well, the obvious reason is just, you know, being good stewards of the environment. I mean, that should always be an important point for all farmers to get behind. You know, we just always need to be mindful of our impacts that our practices have on others downstream or away from our fields, but more directly, when it comes to nutrient loss. 00:23:17:10 - 00:23:39:16 Jim Isermann So especially on the nitrate side of things, this is a fertilizer that has value in our fields. And so there's a tremendous argument that these appropriate practices could also be economic practices for us in the long term. Just by keeping what is a valuable product on our farms where it has value, rather than seeing it leave our fields where it then becomes a pollutant. 00:23:39:23 - 00:23:56:23 Todd Gleason What actions do you think are necessary for farmers and landowners to take to reach the water quality goals Illinois has? They have a couple sets of goals and, it will take most of the producers in the state to do something to reach those. 00:23:56:26 - 00:24:02:28 Jim Isermann Yeah, it's going to take a number of things to address it. In the first and simplest one is nitrogen management. 00:24:03:00 - 00:24:41:02 Jim Isermann This should be an easy one to implement simply because it provides an economic savings for farmers. It is the one that we've seen the most movement on. Because we're oftentimes talking about ultimately reducing the overall rate of nitrogen that is applied, by applying it at the right time or just not committing an over application. So we've seen, you know, significant improvement in this using programs such as the maximum return to nitrogen or even just some of the commercial monitoring programs that are out there that are kind of, you know, looking at the yearly climate and soil organic layer to help reduce nitrogen rates. 00:24:41:04 - 00:24:57:11 Jim Isermann But in the end, this isn't just an issue of over application. In fact, quite a bit of the problem is, is the fact we're putting too much nitrogen out there. It's simply that it's very mobile. It's always changing forms, and it can even just come out of the organic matter of our soil, even if we're not applying nitrogen. 00:24:57:12 - 00:25:15:29 Jim Isermann So even with all that, we're going to need to see some other practices, such as cover crops and no till in particular tile ground in order to capture these nitrates that can be leave in our field. So we can look at edge of field practices. There's some really cool things, such as wetlands and bioreactors that will play an important role. 00:25:16:02 - 00:25:37:23 Jim Isermann And farmers, you know, so I always look at those, to kind of help the system. But in the end, we're going to have to see more implementation of cover crops, often coupled with reduced tillage practices, you know, maybe not at every acre, maybe that's not the mentality that we have to have, but we're going to have to see these adopted on significant acres in order to address the issue of nitrates leave leaving our fields. 00:25:37:25 - 00:25:46:22 Todd Gleason Cover crops is actually fairly easy for people to understand, meaning that the crop is green and it holds the nitrogen in place within the crop. 00:25:46:22 - 00:25:50:19 Todd Gleason Often times how does no till help? 00:25:50:21 - 00:26:12:29 Jim Isermann No till as far as nutrient loss will have a couple of facets to that. Number one, you know, I've been kind of concentrating on the nitrate side of things because that's something I understand a little bit better on the phosphorus side is, you know, kind of the other component of that. So we do see big improvements with phosphorus loss because of no till practices reduce overall soil erosion. 00:26:12:29 - 00:26:32:21 Jim Isermann And that is still one of the primary ways that phosphorus gets into our lakes and streams, as by being attached to to the soil. Now there are there's research going on that shows that there are maybe some other ways that it's happening as well. And there's a lot of interesting research going on in terms of the phosphorus that is in our streams, but actually no till plays a big role in that. 00:26:32:21 - 00:26:53:01 Jim Isermann I also do see notable or also reduced tillage systems because it doesn't always need to be no till we're seeing guys who are very successful with stripped out systems, but reducing that tillage in some way couples very well with cover crop management. Cover crops with tillage can be done. We certainly see that in inorganic systems oftentimes. 00:26:53:01 - 00:27:14:29 Jim Isermann But when we look at trying to address situations of keeping those nitrates and keeping the soil, the fertilizer in the systems, those reduced tillage systems such as scrip, so really coupled very well with nitrate. There, I'm sorry, with cover crops. There's also some other things that can go out of the soil in terms of releasing nitrogen, nitrates and nitrogen from the organic matter. 00:27:14:29 - 00:27:25:24 Jim Isermann When we apply tillage, there's some other things that go on there that just make those reduced tillage practices, a good a good pairing with cover crops to address nutrient loss. 00:27:25:26 - 00:27:44:17 Todd Gleason Finally, for those who are interested in, and want to adopt either new or, develop conservation practices on their properties, whether they're landowners or farmers, how can they be supported by the nutrient loss reduction strategy? 00:27:44:23 - 00:28:15:14 Jim Isermann So there's a lot of information in the nutrient loss reduction strategy itself about how to address this. Walking through those different steps in terms of, you know, utilizing cover crops are utilizing, nitrogen management. But I think the important, aspect that I see is once you decide what route you want to go. So if it's cover crops, for example, making sure that you're getting, appropriate advice and appropriate resources, there's a ton of information out there in terms of cover crop management. 00:28:15:17 - 00:28:34:29 Jim Isermann There's lots of people starting to take on a lot of these practices. One of the downfalls that I probably see most of the time of a farmer trying to adopt those practices, is trying to take maybe some information from someone who wasn't in the same system and trying to apply it to their system. So easy example is, you know, if you're in a commodity corn soybeans system, etc.. 00:28:34:29 - 00:28:59:20 Jim Isermann Illinois on flat, black, black, high quality soils, you need to find guys who are in similar situations. You need to find researchers that are doing work in similar economic areas to apply to what you're doing. So maybe someone who's doing an organic system or has livestock involved, those systems and how they're managing them won't necessarily come back and fit your program very well. 00:28:59:20 - 00:29:23:05 Jim Isermann Soil health has a lot of principles that are absolutely true. We see them talked about all the time. We see, you know, keeping the cover on the soil, improving diversity, reducing tillage, all those things are very important. But I would actually that's applied to your system as what's going to matter. What you're doing may be a little bit different than what somebody else is doing who might be out there on the internet or giving some sort of advice. 00:29:23:05 - 00:29:40:26 Jim Isermann So always make sure that you're paying attention to the context of that advice or that resource that you're looking to rely on. Make sure that that information is going to apply to to your program as well, because, you know, at the end of the day, commodity corn and soybean systems, if you're wanting to adopt these practices, you know, yield is not everything. 00:29:40:29 - 00:29:59:10 Jim Isermann But yield is pretty important. And we have to be cautious that we're not taking on practices that are negatively impacting our yield and therefore our economics. While we're trying to address these problems. And there are ways to do that, we can do both. We can address the needs of a nutrient loss reduction strategy while maintaining, good profitability. 00:29:59:12 - 00:30:37:03 Todd Gleason Jim Isermann is a farmer and works for the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Partnership. Today on this Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy podcast, we've been talking about the 2023 bi annual report. It is the fourth update to the strategy since its inception in 2015. Implementing one of the NLRS is guided by research to optimize nutrient loss reduction while fostering deep collaboration and innovation across academia, the private sector, nonprofits, wastewater agencies, and local, state and federal government agencies. 00:30:37:05 - 00:30:45:02 Todd Gleason Our program was produced in conjunction with the University of Illinois extensions. Rachel Curry and Nicole Haverback. I'm Todd Gleason.