Precision Conservation Management to Expand Conservation Acres in Illinois through PepsiCo Partnership

Apr 27, 2023

Precision Conservation Management (PCM) will be partnering with PepsiCo to expand conservation acres in Illinois through 2030. PCM Director Greg Goodwin disclosed that the partnership would prioritize three key conservation practices: planting cover crops, reducing tillage, and adjusting nitrogen application rates and timing.

In 2022, the partnership enabled PCM to promote the use of conservation practices on more than 150,000 acres across PCM regions in Nebraska and Illinois. Goodwin expressed the importance of the partnership in addressing the water quality goals of partner states, including Illinois.

PCM's collaborations with the Illinois Corn, Illinois Soybean Association, and Heartland Science and Technology Group strengthen the program's expertise in providing advisory services to farmer cooperators. The program aims to maximize farmer profitability and increase the adoption of conservation practices in select counties in Illinois, Kentucky, and Nebraska.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.