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PONTIAC, Ill. — The Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation District held its 77th annual meeting Jan. 20 at the Precision Technology Institute.
Breakfast was catered by the Livingston Area Career Center culinary arts students and their instructor, Chef Scott Rowan.
Chuck Hanley, SWCD vice chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting, and Gary Bressner, treasurer, led in the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation.
After breakfast, Chairman Lee Bunting conducted the business meeting, which included the election of three board members. Board members reelected to two-year terms were Bressner, Bunting and Tom Yoder.
Following the election, Bunting reminded guests of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy and noted that Illinois has appropriated money toward reaching the state’s goals.
Partners In Conservation
Several conservation awards were presented at the meeting.
Partners in Conservation Awards were presented to Sara Hostetter, Fairbury; Josh Donze, Pontiac; Gary and Craig Swartz, Saunemin; and American Farmland Trust.
Hostetter was honored for her willingness to help with SWCD projects and is known for always bringing a smile and helpful attitude.
Donze is carrying on his family’s farming tradition while embracing conservation activities such as cover crops and no-till.
The Swartzes have been practicing no-till and strip-till for about 30 years, and they are conducting nitrogen rate trials on their farms to help determine the best rate for their operation.
AFT is a national organization founded in 1980 to save America’s farms and ranches. It has worked closely with SWCD on the Vermilion Headwaters Watershed Project, as well as developing fact sheets about cover crops, nitrogen and reduced tillage as part of the outreach in the watershed.
Farm Family Award
The Conservation Farm Family Award was presented to the Stan Blunier family of Forrest.
The Bluniers farm about 1,300 acres of corn and soybeans, along with a 13,000 head wean-to-finish hog operation. They utilize no-till and strip-till as much as possible and recently began using cover crops.
In addition, the Bluniers are working with a seed company on some small, in-field test plots to see how the hybrids do in “normal” field conditions. They recently updated parts of their hog operation, including the addition of a new composter, through the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
The Bluniers also worked with the Illinois Pork Producers to install a diversified windbreak in front of the hog buildings to improve both the aesthetic appeal and cut down on odor from the buildings.
Precision Planting
Following the presentation of awards, Vice Chairman Hanley introduced guest speaker Jason Webster, Precision Planting lead commercial agronomist and Precision Technology Institute manager.
Webster touched on some of the different research conducted at PTI. He focused on how the company manages the site’s water that is drained from its fields. Most of the water is kept in a 2.5-acre pond that is then used to irrigate the crops during hot, dry periods of the summer.