Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition, Sen. Durbin announce $923K grant to advance grazing lands conservation

BREESE, Ill. — The Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced that the farmer-led nonprofit organization will receive a $923,458 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to advance grazing lands conservation throughout Illinois.

“ILGLC is proud to have secured our second Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative grant in as many years,” said Christian Lovell, executive director of the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition.

“We continue to see overwhelming demand from Illinois farmers seeking to add resiliency to their grazing operations, and the resources provided by this project will allow ILGLC to meet the needs of our state for the years ahead. We thank Senator Durbin for his support of this project and his continued support for Illinois agriculture.”

Grazing lands conservation practices lead to increased biodiversity and improved soil health, Durbin said.

“I’m thrilled to see funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture going towards improved grazing management,” he said.

The $923,458 in funding was awarded through the 2024 Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative program from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

These new federal resources will expand ILGLC’s ability to educate Illinois farmers and drive adoption of improved grazing management to bolster farm profitability, improve soil health and water quality and grow biodiversity.

Key initiatives of ILGLC’s project, titled Expanding Capacity for Illinois Grazing, include:

• Establishing an Illinois Forage Grazing Collaborative in partnership with University of Illinois Extension and the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council to offer new educational resources on the benefits of conservation grazing associated with different forage selection and grazing management.

• Developing a Training and Mentorship Program with Illinois NRCS to increase livestock grazing knowledge among NRCS staff and build relationships between NRCS staff and livestock producers.

• Continuing ILGLC grazing conferences and workshops to meet the growing need for educational opportunities and technical assistance demanded by Illinois producers.

• Expanding the ILGLC Partners in Grazing Program and Regional Grazing Groups to advance community and social support for graziers that advance farmer-to-farmer learning opportunities.

• Growing diversity of Illinois’s grazing community through targeted outreach to socially disadvantaged groups and scholarships for underserved producers to attend program events and activities.

This recent award through the NRCS-GLCI program builds upon ILGLC’s previously-funded GLCI project, as well as a separate cooperative agreement with Illinois-NRCS.

Through these agreements, ILGLC has successfully positioned itself to continue meeting the needs of Illinois producers for years to come.