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Conservation lease addendums help Illinois farmers discuss new practices with landowners

A new resource from IL Corn and the University of Illinois helps guide conversations with landowners about implementing conservation practices.

IL Corn Marketing Board district director and Peoria County farmer Ross Pauli tells Brownfield they have conservation lease addendums for practices related to conservation habitat, soil health and nutrient management.

“It makes it easier to add those to their existing lease instead of rewriting the whole lease. So say you have a five year lease with this person and now you’re wanting to add some conservation like no-till or cover crops. This makes it much easier and it helps the conversation start.”

He says IL Corn hopes the resources will encourage more farmers to begin implementing conservation practices voluntarily and avoid government regulation.

Pauli says educating landowners is also key. For example, one of his landowners recently put in a $12,000 dry dam to prevent soil erosion in a gully.   

“The previous owner put one dry dam in on the other side and it’s been in for 10 years. I’ve shown the current owner how good it works, so she ended up building this one last year on the other side. So, a lot of times just by showing the owners the benefits can really help.”

Click here for more information and links to download the addendums.