AISWCD SUMMER CONFERENCE RECAP
- ilaimproject
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
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 conference and share one change they would like to see in their offices this year, underscoring his commitment to listening to every perspective and using that input to help shape his plans.
This was the first year the conference took place in Peoria, with training being held at the Hilton East Peoria Riverfront Hotel and Conference Center from July 13-15. The topics of these trainings ranged from soil health to grants management and district relevancy. During the Monday evening dinner, the Sand County Foundation presented Greg and Janis Thoren with the 2026 Leopold Conservation Award, and a video was played featuring the history of their farm, their fenceless grazing system and other innovative practices. To learn more about their farm, please watch that video by clicking here
There were also multiple field trip options, including a visit to Wildlife Prairie Park on Monday morning and an opportunity to see Professor Pete Fandel’s Edge of Field Practices at Illinois Central College (ICC) on Tuesday afternoon, which included cover crop plots, a bioreactor, a constructed wetland, and a floating wetland. Showcasing his wide variety of cover crops, Pete said that selection depends on what a farmer is wanting to accomplish. He picked up a sample of hairy vetch to show how much biomass it can produce. Although it is great at fixing nitrogen, Pete said, “My advice ahead of corn is to use one of the other grass plants like winter barley or triticale. They don’t have allelopathy. They also don’t grow as quickly in the spring, so then you have more time to get it killed before it’s going to get out of hand.”
ICC’s floating wetland consists of 30 islands, each 5 ft by 10 ft, that are connected by a cable. Each island came with pre-drilled holes for planting, and Pete and his team planted eighty 2-inch plugs into each last year. Multiple buoys with sensors measure the nitrate, total nitrogen, dissolved reactive phosphorus and total phosphorus in the pond water, taking readings about every minute. These buoys are strategically placed to measure how much nutrients the roots are absorbing as the water passes beneath the islands.
Explaining their data collection process, Pete said, “In addition to the sensors taking readings every minute, we do some hand sampling in the water every so often to make sure the sensors are accurate. There’s also a water control structure here on the outflow of the pond, the little solar panel right here. There’s a water control device in there that is connected to the overflow, so whenever there is flow going out of the pond, it sucks water out of the overflow pipe, and there are 36 bottles inside this little work box right here. It fills those 36 bottles, and then we have students come and collect those, take them back to our freezer. We freeze them, and once a semester, our Chemistry Department takes all our samples from across the campus, thaws them all out, and we run them in a lab with a discrete analyzer to confirm all the numbers.” He added that this has become a multidisciplinary endeavor, with students from Biology, Chemistry and Ag departments all working on different aspects of the project.
Throughout the conference, it was inspirational to learn about all the work that different conservation professionals are doing. Some of these individuals were recognized for outstanding achievements in their fields at a dinner on Tuesday evening. Below is a list of recipients who were honored at the Award Dinner.
AISWCD President’s Award – Ashley Curran
AISWCD Legacy Award – Terry Bogner – Marshall Putnam County
AISWCD Director of the Year – Kenny Hawthorne – Ford County
Lawmaker of the Year – Rep. Jason Bunting
AISWCD Conservation Woman of the Year – Claire Shipp, American Farmland Trust
AISWCD Conservation Teacher of the Year – Annamaria Farris – Williamson County
Land Use Council of the Year – Land Use Council #2
Forester of the Year – Curt Sinclair
Friend of Conservation – Illinois Soybean Association
Conservation Farm Family of the Year – Lazy B Farms - Lawrence County
McKibbon Scholarship – Owen Kocher – Richland County
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