How do conservation practices like cover crops, conservation tillage, and strategic nutrient management affect crop productivity and profitability? This is a key question in today’s era of climate-smart agriculture. The Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program, in collaboration with Dr. Kaiyu Guan and Dr. Bin Peng from the University of Illinois, is funding how these practices can benefit soybean farmers. 

The project aims to provide Illinois farmers with detailed, scientific data on how conservation practices influence crop yields, greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon sequestration, and nitrogen leaching. This information will help farmers make informed decisions and explore opportunities in emerging ecosystem marketplaces, such as carbon credits. 

Stay tuned for updates on FieldAdvisor.org, where you’ll find information based on the research. The team also includes Dr. Andrew Margenot and PhD student Ziyi Li from UIUC.