Environmental policy, stewardship, collaboration detailed in Illinois Farm Bureau’s 2020 Environmental Report

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — In a year of uncertainty, Illinois Farm Bureau remained certain of its commitment to environmental stewardship in Illinois agriculture. The organization kept a steady stride in its ongoing efforts in the environmental sphere, ranging from nutrient stewardship activity to climate work.

“Our organization spent a great deal of time over 2020 and the past several years building a track record and a reputation for benefiting the environment,” said IFB President Richard Guebert Jr. “That track record will continue to be important in the coming years as we continue to establish our role in the discussions on environmental solutions alongside our board of directors, county Farm Bureau leadership and Illinois farmers.”

The year’s efforts culminated in the creation of Illinois Farm Bureau’s 2020 Environmental Report, a 24-page document showcasing efforts across environmental policy and stewardship.

“As demonstrated in this report, we work on many aspects of environmental policy including water quality, fertilizer and pesticide use, pollinators and the Monarch butterfly,” said Lauren Lurkins, IFB director of environmental policy. “We deal with changes that come at the state level, at the federal level and sometimes both at the same time.”

Concerted efforts to strengthen relationships with national agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Region 5 Chicago office, help keep communication lines open and Illinois farmers at the table.

In 2020, IFB continued this collaboration despite COVID-19 restrictions. In addition to regular phone calls, its farmer leaders, Environmental Advisory Team and environmental staff engaged in several virtual visits with USEPA headquarters and Region 5 staff. These virtual opportunities helped to set the stage for socially-distanced farm visits through the summer and fall.

Additionally, during an October farm visit, IFB and the USEPA Region 5 signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize a voluntary partnership to continue to build upon the existing communication, education, outreach and information sharing between the two entities.

IFB continues to set environmental action as an organizational priority, following through by committing resources to do the job. Since 2015, IFB has contributed to the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.

From 2015 to 2021, IFB has committed over $2,000,000 on progress in four NLRS areas:

• Outreach and education.

• Supporting research.

• Supporting implementation.

• Documenting progress.

IFB reports these efforts to the NLRS every year in order to document its progress in these areas.

“We make the extra effort to document each speech, article and field day to demonstrate progress for our members, fellow environmental or agricultural stakeholders, regulators, lawmakers, and sometimes even people who are completely unfamiliar with agriculture in Illinois,” Lurkins said.

IFB recently announced the recipients of its Nutrient Stewardship Grant Program. The program, now in its sixth consecutive year, is a cornerstone of IFB’s work to implement the NLRS.

Grant funding helps promote local nutrient stewardship, soil health and water quality projects in counties across the state. More than $150,000 will be distributed to support 21 different projects across the state in 2021.

Twenty-eight Illinois county Farm Bureaus will collaborate with local farmers and partners on their respective county projects. All projects will be conducted with the ultimate goal of achieving nutrient loss reduction under the Illinois NLRS.

The NLRS, which was released by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in July 2015, calls for wastewater treatment plants, urban areas and agricultural areas to reduce the state’s phosphorous load by 25% and its nitrate-nitrogen load by 15% by 2025. The eventual target is a 45% reduction in the loss of these nutrients to the Mississippi River.

In addition to work in nutrient loss reduction, IFB was active in several pollinator and monarch initiatives in 2020. Since 2016, IFB has been a leading member of the Illinois Monarch Project.

IMP was established with a mission to help monarch butterflies thrive throughout Illinois by collaborating on conservation activities and encouraging engagement by public and private landowners across diverse urban and rural landscapes.

IFB has played a pivotal role in several key IMP initiatives, including the Illinois Monarch Action Plan Signing in September, Route 66 Monarch Flyway project and the submission of over 200 individual efforts to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monarch Conservation Database.

After IFB’s approval of a more robust global climate policy in December 2019, IFB increasingly engaged in the area of climate change. This work encompasses several areas including corporate sustainability, regenerative agriculture, weather, carbon sequestration in soils and ecosystem service market trading platforms. IFB’s work focuses primarily on exploring and shaping federal legislative and regulatory efforts, scientific research and industry initiatives.

“Our 2019 global climate change policy was later proposed to American Farm Bureau Federation and largely accepted by its delegate body in January 2020,” Guebert said.

“This work set the stage for AFBF to engage in climate change policy discussions in a variety of avenues and is a great example of Illinois Farm Bureau engaging in grassroots development and implementation of policy that is relevant and impactful for our members. We are ready and eager to discuss science-based solutions that are consistent with our policy.”