By Tara Heath
Healthy soils, cleaner water, and stronger farms, one field at a time —University of Illinois Extension and STAR (Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources) are working together to make it happen.
STAR was born out of a grassroots, farmer-driven movement in Champaign County to help guide agricultural producers in meeting conservation goals established to reduce soil and nutrient losses and address local water quality challenges. Designed as a simple, straightforward, easy-to-use tool, the STAR concept grew to include an implementation framework and was soon adapted and expanded into other Midwestern and Western states.
Developed for farmers, by farmers, the STAR Tool is a free conservation evaluation and guidance tool that generates a 1-5 STAR Rating at a field scale. Farmers are then encouraged to build a Conservation Innovation Plan for the next crop year to identify next steps in their conservation journey and explore the technical, educational, and financial opportunities available to help them implement practices. Producer data remains confidential and can only be shared with the producer’s explicit permission or as part of aggregated and anonymized results.
Extension is partnering with STAR by serving as a local resource for agronomic advice and conservation planning. Commercial Ag Educator Tara Heath is now a STAR Navigator for Fulton, Mason, McDonough, Peoria, and Tazewell counties. She will assist producers with completing assessments, interpreting results, and connecting them to technical and financial resources.
Tara shares, “I’m excited to help farmers take practical steps toward improving soil health and water quality. STAR makes it easy to see where you’re doing well and where small changes can make a big difference.”
Source : illinois.edu