PEORIA, Ill. — The Illinois Ag Retail Survey informs the state’s volunteer Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while providing the agricultural industry with field data that can be used to defend farmers against potential future regulations, according to Kevin “KJ” Johnson, executive director of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA). Johnson summarized the latest survey results for ag retailers and farmers on January 21, opening day of the 2025 IFCA Convention in Peoria.

“What we did see when we did this survey is that most (farmers and applicators) are within the agronomic handbook for applications, and that’s a good thing. We can defend that most of us in the state of Illinois are not over-applying or under-applying (fertilizers),” Johnson said, while providing specific details on application trends across the state.

Among Illinois’ nine crop reporting districts, the survey polled over 140 ag input retailers and professional applicators who worked 922 crop fields in 2023. 500 data points such as field size, crops grown, rotation schedule, cover crop usage, tillage practices, field nutrient levels (if measured), and, critically, ammonia application scheduling and use of ammonia inhibitors were collected by survey “liasions” such as Dan Schaefer, Lee Ward and Jim Lindeman, all of whom were on hand to discuss the survey. 

In addition, the surveyors sought information on the percentage of farmers who apply nutrients at MRTN and whether they incorporate manure into their nutrient regimen. Farms of varying sizes were included in the survey, with a median field size of 77 acres and farm size of 1,000 acres.

“The entire application of N (nitrogen) in the fall decreased to 16 percent in 2023 from 21 percent in 2021. Entire application in spring is at 21 percent, spring planting to pre-plant 27 percent, and a split of pre-plant and side dress 16 percent,” Johnson said, before divulging more specifics, including:

Phosphorus (P): Soil sampling for phosphorus was conducted on 86 percent of fields, and 83 percent of commercial phosphorus was applied. Variable Rate Technology (VRT) was used on 43 percent of fields. 61 percent of fertilizer phosphorus applications occurred annually.

Cover crops were planted on around 10 percent of cropland, totaling over 2 million acres, with the highest adoption in region 9.

No-till was practiced on 40 percent of soybean acres and 22 percent of corn acres, with region 1 reporting the highest adoption rates.

Manure was applied to only 5 percent of corn acres in 2023.

The genesis of the Illinois Retail Ag Survey can be traced to Iowa’s NREC, which began tracking the sales and usage of agricultural fertilizers in 2015. IFCA used Iowa’s Nutrient Research Education Council (NREC) model, which relied on the cooperation and involvement of the state’s ag input industry and major farm commodity groups, when designing the template for the Illinois survey, which debuted in 2022.

“We now have five liaisons who come and meet with (retailers) who are randomly selected. The information is entered into a survey database that is run by Iowa NREC. The data collection period runs from May to March,” said Johnson, adding that no farmer’s name is ever collected during the survey.

“This (survey) is a long-term sell of the industry and what we are doing,” he added. “Illinois EPA is going to use this data, and this is how we can defend ourselves as an industry.”

The Illinois Ag Retail Survey is funded by the Illinois EPA Gulf Hypoxia Program.