Completed By:  Eric Ness, Wildlife Ecologist

Organization and its farmland

• How much farmland does your organization own and manage? (total acres): 1,868 (Hay: 159)

• Where is this farmland located? (Counties, State): Lake County, Illinois
• Will you be acquiring more farmland over time? (Y/N/Maybe): Yes
• How much of your current farmland do you expect to still be in farmland in 10 years? (Please provide estimate by percentage or acreage, whichever is easier) 

~650 (32%) acres to be retired within 10 years. 

• What percentage or number of acres of your farm properties have farm infrastructure (fencing, well water, farm buildings – not including tiling)? Please share any helpful comments or explanations. 

Have some fencing at our grazing lease, otherwise we don’t have much infrastructure. 

• In general, is your organization interested and willing to invest in more infrastructure (fences, wells, farm buildings, etc.) on the farmland it owns? (Y/N/Maybe – we welcome some comments as well if the situation is nuanced) 

Not currently as the goal is still to restore the property.

• What kind of farming is currently being done on your land? Please list the number of fields or acres for each.
  • • Conventional commodity row crops (corn & soy):  acres1,830
    • Conventional livestock production: 38
    • Organic/sustainable grains: 
    • Organic/sustainable/rotational livestock production:
    • Local vegetable production: 
    • Hay: 159 acres
    • Trees/Agroforestry: 
    • Other: 
• Does your organization offer (or partner to offer) any education about farming to the public or to the farmers who farm your organization’s land? (Y/N – if Yes, please briefly describe)

No

• How is revenue from your organization’s farmland used by your organization?

Directly spent on management of restored acres.

Farmland management decision-making, staffing, and policies

• Who leads the management and operation of your farmland on a day-to-day basis?

Single person, currently assigned to the wildlife ecologist.

• How many staff total (full-time equivalents) manage your farmland on a day-to-day basis over a year? 

One

• What policies, if any, drive or guide your land management decisions?  (If there is a specific policy, please share it with us when you respond to this survey.) 

Farm Policy Attached.

• Is fostering local food production on your farmland important to your organization? (Y/N – if Yes, please briefly explain how this is pursued or may be pursued in the future)

I would describe it as being viewed as a side benefit of the program.

Relationship with Farmers and Conservation

• What kind of standard leasing and licensing arrangements do you have with your farmers? How long do your leases typically last and do they ever deviate from that period? How are farmers selected for farmland lease opportunities? How is lease pricing set for standard farmland lease arrangements?  

The acres are set up on a 4 year lease cycle, sometimes that is shorter if a field is expected to retire. At the end of the lease cycle, the farm is sent out for bid, with the lease being awarded to the highest bid from a reputable farmer. The farmer signs a license agreement when they are awarded the lease. 

• How many total lease or lease-to-own agreements does your organization have? 

18

• When a farmer’s lease ends, can it be renewed without going into a competitive process? (Y/N – explanation appreciated if you answered Yes)

No

• Do you restrict any practices farmers can do on your land for conservation purposes (no fall tillage, prohibition on the use of certain chemicals, no hay cutting until certain date, etc.)?  (Y/N – if Yes, please briefly describe)

Yes: Buffer strips, no fall tillage, required additional conservation plans by farm.

• Do you require and/or incentivize any positive conservation measures to be taken by the farmers (use of cover crops, installation of prairie strips, etc)? (Y/N – if Yes, please briefly describe) 

No

• Do you have any programs designed to help beginning farmers (farmers with less than 10 years of experience) get a start on your organization’s farmland? If so, please describe. 

No.

• Does your organization allow for unique/custom farming arrangements on specific farmland properties to explore or test conservation approaches? (Y/N – if Yes, please describe) 

Yes, if it does not go strongly against currently policy and the farm manager feels they can monitor the affects properly.

• Please describe any edge-of-field practices your organization carries out around tillable acreages or requires farmers to plant/maintain (e.g. buffers or bioreactors, etc.).  

Currently 30 foot buffers around wetlands.

• Do you have any organic farming leases/arrangements with farmers? (Y/N – if Yes, please describe briefly and share how many acres are in organic production) 

No

• Do you do any formal or informal activities to build good relationships with your farmer tenants/partners, like meeting in person on an annual basis? (Y/N – if Yes, please describe briefly) 

Nothing established, currently just meet when I can.

Monitoring and Information systems

• What systems does your organization use for holding and storing data about your farmland properties as well as for administering them (GIS, databases, etc.)?  

GIS map and excel are the majority of data.

• What things do you monitor to determine whether your farmland management system has the conservation impacts you want to see?  

Soil testing and conservation plan review every 4 years. 

• Soil testing? (Y/N – if yes, please provide a short description of what kind, how often, who pays for soil testing, whether same testing lab is used, etc.)

Yes: 2.5-acre grid sampling, 4 years (when lease is up for renewal), farmer reimburses for payment, typically use the same lab (Conserv FS). 

• Other soil health metrics (earthworms, etc.)? Y/N plus a short description. 

No.

• Erosion monitoring? Y/N with a short description if Yes 

Is somewhat reported via soil testing, nutrient management plan

• Water quality testing/monitoring? Y/N plus short description if Yes  

No

• Wildlife monitoring? Y/N plus short description if Yes  

No

• Is the farmer responsible for providing any of the above information?

No

• Do you have any indexes or other systems for quickly assessing the practices and ecological health of a particular piece of farmland?  

Nothing outside of contracted testing (soil test and conservation plan).

Bigger Picture Questions 

• What are the three projects and/or aspects of your farmland management system you are most proud of in terms of your organization’s farmland management system over the past three years? 

Can’t say I have been around enough to be proud of any programs. Overall I am getting to meet the farmers and let them show me what kind of strategies they prefer to operate under.

• What are three of your institution’s biggest challenges around conservation-minded management of its farmland? 

Staffing time to stay up on the conservation strategies and management. Fear of reduced lease dollars reducing the management budget. View the program may be unsupported by senior leadership and committee board as it may not fall into District’s goals. Lake County seems to have a small amount of local farmers which also causes a fear of upsetting the ones currently leasing our properties. 

• What changes are you considering making to your farmland management system over the next five years? 

Push “no-brainer” conservation strategies, but not require – see how the farmers react to conversation. Would like to update policy (last updated in 2014) to disallow use of certain chemicals/seed coating.