News & Updates

Although she started as the Wayne County Conservation Planner in October 2023, Davonne Long’s work in conservation dates to the late 1990s when she completed a high school internship with Wabash County SWCD. While she worked on similar projects back then, including CRP and terraces, the work was quite different, as the SWCD was not yet using computers for designs, and all projects needed to be drawn by hand. Along with this experience, Davonne regularly utilizes her degree in

Soil sampling for previous round of Soil Health Appraisal Project. Photos provided by Lucas Chamberlain IL STAR is thrilled to be partnering with Delta Institute on a project that is paving the way for soil health to be factored into farmland valuation. Compeer Financial and the Soil Health Institute are the other major partners in the Soil Health Appraisal Project, which has selected 12 tracts of land from Piatt, Logan and Macon counties, a region that was identified for its

Continuing his great-great-grandfather’s legacy, Greg Dickey started farming when he was only 8 years old. He now grows corn, soybeans, wheat and milo with his two sons, Tyler and Gavin, who each have their own roles on the farm. According to Greg, he plants corn and milo, Gavin plants all the beans and wheat using no-till, and Tyler (who also serves as a Director on their SWCD Board) does all the spraying with a drone and ground rig, along with making drone videos showcasing

The AIM Initiative had a booth in the Illinois Department of Agriculture tent at the Illinois State Fair from Friday, August 14 to Sunday, August 23, and some of our Conservation Planners traveled from different parts of the state to share information about our program and facilitate our scavenger hunt, which included a $50 Amazon gift card raffle for those who completed. We would like to congratulate Anna from Effingham County on winning the raffle! The following reflections

On July 27, 2026, Conservation Planner Adam Sickles began working as the new Resource Conservationist (RC) for Piatt County SWCD! After joining the AIM Initiative in October 2023, his colleagues in Piatt County quickly appreciated his contributions to their office. Shortly before Adam joined the office, Bri Gates began working as the Piatt County RC and expressed how helpful he was in sharing the CRP workload. She’s now the Horticulture Program Director at Parkland College, a

*as of 7/21/26 Less than two months into Crop Year 2026, Illinois STAR has surpassed the total number of acres using the STAR Tool for CY25 by over a quarter million! As of July 21, 654 producers across 89 counties entered field forms, covering 407,046.4 acres. This is tremendous growth, particularly when considering that CY23 ended with just 50,500 acres total for the whole year. CY24 had 67,000 and last year (CY25) had 121,000. The program has grown 140% in enrolled acres i

Greg and Janis Thoren receiving the 2026 Leopold Award Representatives from over 20 organizations gathered at the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ (AISWCD) 78th Annual Meeting and Summer Conference to exchange ideas on agricultural best practices and reaffirm a shared commitment to investing in natural resources and supporting farmers throughout Illinois. AISWCD Executive Director Eliot Clay encouraged everyone to speak with him during the confer

Multi-purpose pond built by Kyan Observing the dedication and hard work that go into maintaining The Table Farm and Workshop in Bloomington, Illinois, offers a truly inspiring example of thoughtful stewardship. The fact that everything is done by hand, without even using a tractor, speaks volumes about Kyan Glenn’s commitment to the soil. When he purchased the property in November 2019, it was just a house in the country, but he has now transformed it into a 4.5-acre quintess