News

Concerns about conservation

A north-central Illinois farmer says he’s concerned federal cuts to the USDA will stymie the adoption of conservation practices across the country.

Brian Corkill, who farms in Henry & Stark Counties, says the Conservation Stewardship Program was instrumental in his adoption of cover crops over a decade ago.

“We experimented on our own a little bit at the front, but we were able to utilize some programs to implement them on a wider amount of acreage,” he says.

He says his local USDA staff were also vital, so seeing their numbers dwindle is a concern.

“We were short on staffing to begin with.”  He says, “Those people are overworked.  I’m all in favor of eliminating government waste. But there’s places where we can do it and there’s places where we can’t.”

Corkill tells Brownfield farmers need county level support and incentives to expand conservation practices.

“Because it is a big management change.”  He says, “You have to really have a big change in mindset over what you’ve done previously to do these things.”

Corkill says it took about five years before seeing significant benefits from the cover crop system, but he’s now a full believer and hopes the USDA continues to support more farmer’s conversion to the practice.

AUDIO: Brian Corkill – Illinois farmer