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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership announced the publication of the Edge of Field Incentive Directory for the Prairie State.
The directory, which is a companion to the 2022 Cover Crop Incentive Directory, was designed to be a quick reference for farmers and conservation partners interested in programs that provide financial and technical assistance for edge-of-field practice implementation in Illinois.
For this resource, edge-of-field practices are those practices which intercept, capture and treat subsurface drainage, conservation drainage practices, or surface runoff at the field level.
Conservation drainage practices include bioreactors, constructed wetlands for tile drainage treatment, drainage water management, drainage water recycling and saturated buffers.
Surface runoff practices include vegetated riparian buffers, filter strips, prairie strips and restored wetlands.
“Incentive programs are exceptionally important for supporting the adoption and implementation of edge of field conservation practices in Illinois and across our agricultural landscapes,” said Adrienne Marino, water quality program manager with The Nature Conservancy and member of ISAP’s Education Committee.
“While benefits provided by edge-of-field practices primarily occur downstream, landowners accrue lost production and installation costs that incentive programs can help offset.”
The Edge-of-Field Incentive Directory includes information on publicly funded programs at the federal and state levels, as well as privately funded programs throughout Illinois. Some opportunities are available only in specific watersheds or counties.
The four-page document includes a brief description, relevant geography, contract length, payment details and contact information for each program.
By viewing the programs side by side, farmers can compare programs and identify opportunities that will best meet their unique needs.
The directory also includes a stacking matrix to help users understand which programs can be combined to receive multiple incentives.
With so many programs to choose from, and many programs having exceptions or exclusions for stacking, the stacking matrix provides a program-by-program guide to stacking opportunities.
“We’ve heard from conservation practitioners, advisers and contractors in our network that having this type of tool at hand would help them in providing the most up-to-date information on EOF opportunities and in recommending the appropriate next steps for their clients” said Jill Kostel, senior environmental engineer for The Wetlands Initiative’s Smart Wetlands Program and member of ISAP’s Board of Directors.
“ISAP’s goal is to raise awareness of the many opportunities available to farmers as they integrate edge of field conservation practices into their operations.”
The Edge-of-Field Incentive Directory and stacking matrix is available to view on ISAP’s website at https://tinyurl.com/2adjj6ck.
Inclusion in the directory does not constitute an endorsement of any particular program by ISAP or its members.
For information on how a particular program may apply to a specific farm or site, landowners should reach out to the listed program contact.
The ISAP encourages farmers, conservation specialists, extension agents and others engaged with edge-of-field and habitat practices to share the directory with their networks and to get in touch with any suggested updates to the directory as programs continue to develop and evolve.