News & Updates

For producers who prefer to complete their own paperwork on STARtool.ag, an image of how fields are laid out on the STAR Tool dashboard. STAR enrollment for CY26 will open on June 1, marking our third year of using STARtool.ag, and producers can begin completing their field forms with the help of STAR Navigators! While celebrating the start of a new Crop Year, we would also like to reflect on some of Illinois STAR’s achievements over the past year. In 2025, all districts were

Envirothon participants, provided by Cara Clark This April I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Illinois Envirothon competition hosted by the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts. This year’s Envirothon took place on April 29th and 30th at the 4H Memorial Campground in Monticello, IL. For those who are not familiar with the Envirothon competition, “The Envirothon® is an environmental and natural resources conservation problem-solving, leadership

Along with implementing conservation practices on his own family farm, Illinois Central College (ICC) Professor Pete Fandel shares his passion for soil health with countless students who participate in the advanced research projects that he conducts on campus. He has taught at ICC for 16 years and previously worked for Illinois Extension, where he collaborated with and learned from Mike Plumer and has tried to continue some of the conservation work that Mike was promoting. On

Left to right: Nick Werries, Courtney Lercher, & Hannah Tomlin. In the month of April, AIM had the opportunity to participate in the third annual CareerSpark STEAM Expo at the Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds, April 14-15. The two-day event welcomed more than 1,800 eighth graders from 26 schools across Illinois, and they had the opportunity to stop by nearly 60 different booths. The STEAM Expo gives students the opportunity to explore careers in Science, Technol

With his technical background, McLean County ConservationPlanner Johnny Anians brings a unique skill set to the AIM Initiative. Combined with a strong work ethic and curiosity, his contributions could help drive meaningful improvements for Conservation Planners more broadly. Before joining the AIM Initiative in June of 2023, Johnny worked at State Farm as part of a specialized technical assignment team tasked with piloting a new department that the company ultimately chose no

Greg Thoren has achieved great success on his farm by combining age-old conservation practices with new technology, such as virtual fencing for his cattle, and he and his wife Janis are now being recognized as the 2026 winner of the Leopold Conservation Award in Illinois. Located in the far southeast corner of Jo Daviess County, Greg farms in the Driftless Area where the topography differs a great deal from central Illinois, and a variety of soil types can be found. Greg’s ex

Illinois STAR is thrilled to continue a partnership with Siemer Milling Company (SMC) that has formally recognized and financially rewarded farmers for their outstanding conservation achievements. In 2025, the Siemer-STAR Producer Reward Payment Program (PRPP) awarded $75,000 to 10 producers and 61 different fields. Since it began in 2023, the PRPP has grown in popularity so much that 139 fields spanning over 8,500 acres across Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky were submitted f