By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

PEORIA, Ill. — Recent increases in crop tillage have continued, but so has farmers’ interest in cover crops, according to the Illinois biennial Soil Erosion and Cropland Tillage Transect Survey, completed this summer by the 97 Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs).

“Cover crops are becoming increasingly attractive to farmers as a way to control resistant weeds in corn and soybean fields,” said Raymond Poe, Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) director. “They have the added benefit of reducing soil erosion and recycling nutrients in the soil that otherwise might be lost. Cover crops used in combination with other weed control methods can overcome some of the issues associated with herbicide-resistant weeds farmers encounter.”

Poe added that the emergence of cover crops in Illinois farmers’ crop management regimen was a bright spot of the survey, which also focuses on soil level losses, use of various tillage methods and technologies, and more.

The survey shows that the percentage of cropland below the “T” (tolerable soil level loss, or the amount of soil that can be replaced naturally by crop residue decomposition) slipped from 80.4 percent in 2015 to 79.2 percent this year. As for tillage methods, there was a 0.9 percent increase in no-till corn surveyed as compared to 2015, while mulch-till saw a reduction of 5.5 percent. Reduced-till corn was up 1.4 percent, while conventional tillage rose by 3.2 percent.

The survey recorded a slight decrease (-1.4 percent) in no-till soybeans compared to 2015, while the extent of conventional tillage for soybeans increased to 19.1 percent from 13.5 percent in 2015.

The transect reports can be accessed at www.agr.state.il.us/illinois-soil-conservation-transect-survey-reports

These reports offer a localized glimpse into the commitments Illinois farmers have made in adopting additional conservation resource management tools, along with the measures SWCD personnel go to in order to compile the transect survey data.

In Rock Island County, for example, two SWCD employees and a student intern spent early June reviewing 464 pre-selected points within the county. Traveling along a set route, data was gathered from each point including crops grown, previous crops, tillage system used, crop residue percentage and whether ephemeral erosion or a cover was present.

Of Rock Island County farm operations surveyed, 23.7 percent used no-till on corn acreage, 18.3 percent used mulch till, 31.5 percent practiced reduced-till, and 26.5 percent went with conventional tillage methods. 58.3 percent used no-till on soybean acreage, 25 percent used mulch-till, 9.5 percent used reduced-till and 9.4 percent used conventional tillage, according to the county’s transect report.

In Peoria County, farmers’ increased use of cover crops was reflected in its SWCD’s survey, also completed in June.

“For sure there has been an increase in cover crops,” said Josh Joseph, resource conservationist for the Peoria County SWCD. “We had our crescendo on no-till somewhere about five years ago, and we are seeing some of our conservation tillage numbers drop. Reduced-till and mulch-till numbers have gone up, and the no-till numbers have come down a little.

“Cover crops are on the rise, mainly because guys are finally starting to figure it out. Cover crops have been around for 100 years, but in the recent resurgence, most farmers have a little bit of a learning curve. The increases we are seeing are largely from the folks who had tried it out and now are doing it on a larger scale rather than those who are following. Certainly, government programs have provided some incentive to get (cover crop usage) going.”

Cover crop usage numbers recorded by SWCD personnel during the transect survey period of spring and early summer may under-project the actual number of acres Illinois farmers plant to cover crops in the fall, Joseph speculated. “The cover crops numbers in that chart may actually trend to the low side,” he said.

Illinois farmers cited many reasons for increasing tillage statewide, Poe reported.

“There are many complex factors that play into the decision-making process farmers go through each year,” he said. “Sometimes change is gradual and can be planned for, but sometimes it happens very quickly. Illinois farmers have historically been leaders in innovation and adaptation to change...that can impact conservation management decisions.”