Crop Year 2026 Opens in June!

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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.

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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 required to become STAR Navigators and complete training, and we would like to share some highlights of their accomplishments with STAR farmers. Jo Daviess County turned in the most field forms, with 187 total submitted forms in CY25! Crawford County had the highest average STAR rating (4.92) for CY25, and Shelby County had the highest increase in average STAR rating from CY24 to CY25, with a rise of 2.13 points! 54% of Navigators uploaded paper field forms in CY25, revealing their importance in assisting producers who may not use computers as frequently.

Over the past couple years, the use of STAR has grown significantly across the state. Partially driven by the requirement that producers use the STAR Tool to participate in any state cost-share programs, we received 2,050 field forms spanning 121,000 acres in 2025, up from 1,207 field forms covering 67,000 acres in 2024. On field forms, farmers indicate whether they are participating in any soil health and conservation programs. Of these 2,050 CY25 field forms, 727 were marked as Partners for Conservation (PFC), 320 were marked as Farmer Led Advances in Soil Health (FLASH), and 161 were marked as Precision Conservation Management (PCM). For CY25 NRCS program enrollment, there were 79 fields marked EQIP, 98 marked CSP, and 31 marked NRCS Other. We hope to encourage a greater number of STAR farmers to take advantage of NRCS cost-share programs in the upcoming crop year.

Numbers are projected to grow even more this year due to the state’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program, which may increase STAR enrollment fivefold! Fortunately, STAR has received financial support from additional partners to expand the use of the Tool, including a recent grant from Cargill’s Success from the Ground Up program. Alayna Jacobs, Conservation Agronomist at Cargill, stated, “At Cargill, we’re focused on supporting farmers as they build more resilient and productive operations. Through Success From the Ground Up, we work with local partners to help farmers adopt key conservation practices that improve soil quality, improve crop productivity, and support economic viability for future generations.”

Illinois STAR is very grateful for the support we’ve received from our partners and look forward to expanding the usefulness of our Tool for all farmers and conservation professionals! For producers who wish to complete paper forms in CY26, a PDF link for a printout version will also be posted on June 1st. STAR Navigators can set up accounts for producers, draw field maps, and upload paper field forms after they’ve been signed and completed by producers. All paper forms MUST be entered into the STAR Tool by the Navigator as soon as possible once they have been received. When completing a paper form, please be sure that you are using the correct Crop Year Field Form. The most up-to-date field form can be downloaded directly from the Illinois STAR Website at illinoisstar.org.

The below image illustrates where paper field forms MUST be signed by the producer.