A busy time for conservation

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Conservation practice adoption, pesticide regulations and biofuel tax credits are just a few of the issues for agriculture entering 2025.

“It’s a busy time. Conservation might not be something everyone gets super excited about, but there’s a lot going on in this space right now,” said Megan Dwyer, Illinois Corn Growers Association conservation and nutrient stewardship director.

“We’ve been really working at the state level helping ensure that we are on track and moving towards meeting the goals of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Federally, it’s the Endangered Species Act, we have the final Herbicide Strategy out which is already impacting herbicide labels, we have a listing coming on the monarch butterfly and the 45Z the tax credit for biofuels has a component looking at conservation practices.

“It’s kind of a diverse group, and then you throw in farm bill and crop insurance — it’s an exciting time.”

Dwyer, a fourth-generation farmer and certified crop adviser, resides on the family farm in Henry County with her husband, Todd, and their four children.

She shares ownership of Ag Authority, an agronomy consulting opportunity for farmers to improve sustainability and in-field efficiency.

She serves on the AGree Coalition steering committee working with a robust and diverse group of stakeholders to assist in developing innovative and scalable food and ag policies and pilot programs.

Dwyer was appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee in November where she will provide policy advice and recommendations to the EPA administrator on crucial environmental issues affecting agriculture and rural communities.

Committee members are chosen for their expertise in key EPA priority areas, including climate change and sustainable agricultural practices, and represent a variety of agricultural sectors, rural stakeholders and diverse geographies.

Dwyer gave an update on current issues in an interview during ICGA’s annual meeting.

The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy includes an interim goal of a 15% reduction in nitrate-nitrogen and a 25% reduction in total phosphorus by 2025. The strategy’s long-term goal is a 45% reduction in total nitrate-nitrogen and phosphorous losses by 2035. Do you feel we’re going in the right direction toward meeting the NLRS goals?

Dwyer: I think it’s a very complex issue. There have been strides made. Programs like our Precision Conservation Management, the Fall Covers for Spring Savings, there has been an investment made. Unfortunately, it seems like it’s really the private sector stepping up to help. We’re not seeing the level of need from the public side that’s needed.

We’re also seeing more rainfall which has the potential to move more nutrients. It’s complex issues like stream bank erosion. Are we getting more phosphorous that comes from stream bank erosion that’s out of our control and harder to manage?

So, I think it’s first realizing that this issue is not simple to address looking at the progress that’s being made, but also being realistic that in a state with 22 million acres of row crops with about 1 million acres of cover crops there’s still more to be done.

Where are we at now in terms of atrazine label and pesticide regulations?

Dwyer: We’re expecting a new atrazine label out soon. It will be interesting to see how that will be. A science adviser panel convened last August that had really good feedback and some really good results coming out of that to talk about the science, and the issue that we truly are following the good science.

For pesticides, there have been some recent reports that have come out about tree damage and spray drift. I think that we also need to be recognizing that it comes down to having good science and just because somebody publishes something doesn’t mean it addresses all of the questions and looks at all of the variables. We need to be aware of that and, again, default back to the science.

The U.S. EPA in August released an “Herbicide Strategy to Reduce Exposure of Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Species and Designated Critical Habitats from the Use of Conventional Agricultural Herbicides.”

The document includes EPA’s three-step process to identify runoff-erosion and spray-drift mitigation to protect listed species and their habitats as part of EPA’s conventional herbicide registration an evaluation process.

Does this go into effect for the next growing season?

Dwyer: I think there’s going to be a lot of changes with the Endangered Species Act. We need to make sure that we’re prepared to look at labels, spending more time reading through labels, maybe now going to websites like “Bulletins Live! Two” and the mitigation menu and just starting to familiarize ourselves with what’s to come and what that might look like.

The strategies are not a rule; it’s a strategy, and it’s helping the EPA get into compliance for the Endangered Species Act. The Herbicide Strategy is the one that’s been finalized.

So, we’ve seen the Liberty Ultra label recently come out. This strategy will play into anytime a pesticide goes through its regular review process or a new pesticide comes to market.

So, it’s going to be on kind of a rolling cycle as we see these come out. Liberty Ultra is out. We’ll see the atrazine label soon.

It’s just going to be looking at your labels, knowing where to go. There could be some of this go into effect for the 2025 growing season.

What is the status of dicamba for 2025?

Dwyer: I think that one has had a very big uphill battle; it will be tough to see that really have a mainstay in our toolbox.