News & Updates

November 19, 2023 David Brandt – the man in the meme – looks like somebody sent from Central Casting to a movie director who wanted The Quintessential Farmer on the set. But truth is stranger than fiction, and Brandt was not an actor. He was the real deal. Randall Reeder, The Ohio State University Extension agricultural engineer, co-authored an article for No-Till Farmer with Brandt and others in May about the importance of conservation practices that build soil health. “Dave

November 17, 2023 Agricultural innovation, like the crops we grow, must come from the bottom up. Some big ideas may come from laboratories and think tanks, but it’s at the ground level – in a farmer’s hands – that things take root. Through a $14 million federal grant, the Natural Resources Division of the Illinois Department of Agriculture is taking AIM. The target – in collaboration with farmers – is to reduce nutrient loss, build soil health, manage water resources, increas

November 16, 2023 Derek Welveart’s occasional childhood work detasseling corn, walking bean fields, and baling hay on the farmland around his hometown of Atkinson, in west central Henry County, was more about money in his pocket than a love of the land or a passion for agriculture. But it nonetheless planted a seed. Welveart died June 17 in the early weeks of a new job as one of 40 conservation planners assigned to Soil and Water Conservation Districts around the state to spr

November 14, 2023 For the past 50 years, Dennis Frey has been farming patches of the rolling Southern Illinois terrain in Hamilton County that is now entering its fifth generation in the family. When he started, it was a traditional diversified family farm, with hogs, cattle, corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and other crops. Over time, it evolved to almost exclusively row crops, particularly corn and beans. But over the last decade or two, it has continued to evolve. Today it i

November 6, 2023 Precision Conservation Management is a free, farmer-first program that provides one-on-one support to qualifying farmers to help them understand the costs and benefits of conservation practices. PCM Supply Chain Partnerships create a financial advantage for farmers who are using regenerative ag practices. We seek to make conservation easy and effective, while reducing financial risk for farmers. Benefits: When you work with PCM you get access to experts, cos

November 1, 2023 AIM needs to inspire, educate, and provide more opportunities for the next generation to enter the agroecology workforce. From elementary school to college, we need to foster interest in natural resources, teach the importance of conservation, and provide young people with the requisite tools and pathways to pursue further education or professional opportunities in related education, trade, science, etc. fields. The goal of the classroom and community engagem