Completed By: Brenna Ness, Agricultural Ecologist
Organization and its farmland
- How much farmland does your organization own and manage? (total acres):
6,646 ac in Farm Program
4,663 ac. Row crops
780 ac. Hay
376 ac. Grazed
827 ac Farm Conservation Areas (CRP, field borders, filter strips, etc.)
- Where is this farmland located? (Counties, State): McHenry County, Illinois
- Will you be acquiring more farmland over time? (Y/N/Maybe):
Maybe (Probably). The District does not actively buy farmland but occasionally farmland comes to the agency as part of a larger acquisition.
- 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)
5,000 ac in all categories of farming as indicated in No. 1
- 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.
<10% of our farm parcels have any existing infrastructure. A handful have old farm buildings, which will likely be demolished in the future. A few have wells which are in use. And a few have fencing which is in use.
- 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)
Installing new infrastructure to support agricultural projects is not a high priority, though we did recently install a new well for a cattle pasture and new waterline for a bison pasture. The District’s Farm Program budgets for infrastructure repair (drain tile), but rarely invests in new farm infrastructure.
- 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): 4,553 ac.
- Conventional livestock production: 376 ac.
- Organic/sustainable grains: 80 ac.
- Organic/sustainable/rotational livestock production: n/a
- Local vegetable production: 30 ac.
- Hay: 780 ac.
- Trees/Agroforestry: n/a
- Other: n/a
- 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)
Yes, we work with partners (LPF, Farm Bureau, McHenry County College, TLC of MC, etc.) to educate the public and farmers about how to implement farm practices that benefit the environmental health and ecosystem function. Recent programs have included topics on transition to organic, woodchip bioreactors, and bison grazing.
- How is revenue from your organization’s farmland used by your organization?
Revenue is used for organization’s operations or ecological restoration.
Farmland management decision-making, staffing, and policies
- Who leads the management and operation of your farmland on a day-to-day basis?
The District’s Agricultural 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.)
The District’s Farm Management Program Policy, which was approved in 2007 and amended in 2008 and 2015. The farm management Policy if part of the larger Natural Ecosystem Management Policy.
- 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)
Currently, it’s not a major priority of the organization. But we are considering how we can better support local food production.
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 District has multiple lease types: 1) Agricultural Leases for row crops, 2) Joint Grassland Venture Leases for hay, and 3) Conservation Grazing Leases for pasture land.
All leases are awarded based on a public bid system, typically awarded to the highest bidder. In special cases, a Request for Proposals is utilized and the lease is awarded to the proposal that best meets the goals of the project.
Ag Leases are typically 3 year leases with the opportunity to re-negotiate upon expiration of the lease. Ag rents are calculated using a variable lease rate formula based on the land’s productivity (PLC yield), a market set commodity price (December corn futures price), and a negotiated percentage.
Joint Grassland Venture leases are typically 3 year leases that use a $/acre rent structure. These leases restrict haying to July 15th or August 1st, depending on the habitat quality and grassland bird populations present. The latest fields can be hayed is Sept. 15th.
Conservation Grazing Leases are unusual agreements for the District that have variable lease lengths and unique rent structures. Rents are based on a $/acre structure.
- How many total lease or lease-to-own agreements does your organization have?
85
- When a farmer’s lease ends, can it be renewed without going into a competitive process? (Y/N – explanation appreciated if you answered Yes)
Yes, leases can be renewed through a negotiation process which takes place the summer before the lease expires. The District negotiates the percentage with the existing tenant. If the tenant does not wish to continue to lease the parcel or if the District and tenant fail to reach an equitable negotiated rent, the lease will be placed out for public bid.
- 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, Ag leases restrict pesticide use (no Dicamba, no neonicotinoid-treated soybean seed), and no chemical persistence beyond the last year of the lease. Also, no municipal sludge can be applied, no fall tillage or fall nitrogen application. Spring tillage is limited to vertical tillage, shallow disking or strip tillage.
Joint Grassland Venture hay leases restrict cutting to between July 15th (or August 1st) and Sept. 15th. Fertilizer application is not permitted on hay ground.
- 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)
Yes, we require crop rotation and all cropland must have an NRCS Conservation Plan. Cover crops must be planted following wheat or soybeans on land with an HEL designation. Lessees must maintain 30 ft field borders and 65 ft filter strips along waterways. Conservation Grazing leases require rotational grazing practices and low stocking rates on pastureland.
We recently established a voluntary Conservation Ag Lease that existing tenants can opt to enroll in during lease renewal/negotiation, which offers a 6-year lease and reduced rent for planting cover crops on all tillable acres annually and using no-till or conservation tillage practices.
- 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.
Yes, our Farm Policy includes the option to solicit bids from beginning farmers for specific farm parcels.
- 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, we are open to experimental approaches if it might benefit soil health or other components of ecosystem function.
- 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.).
All farm parcels have 30 ft field borders and 65 ft filter strips along waterways. We have installed a woodchip bioreactor on one farm parcel through a partnership with the Farm Bureau.
- 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)
Yes, we have one 80-acre farm parcel that is currently transitioning to organic. The lease is a 6 year lease. The tenant is growing food grade soybeans and cereal rye. The other crops in the rotations are still being finalized.
- 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)
We have hosted annual gatherings for our tenants in the past, but attendance was low so we paused these meetings and are discussing how to make improvements in the future.
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.)?
ArcGIS Online, Field Maps app, ArcGIS Pro, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel
- What things do you monitor to determine whether your farmland management system has the conservation impacts you want to see?
[Not Answered]
- 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, Basic Soil Analysis on 5- or 10-acre grid and Haney Test (single biological sample) every 4 years. The District pays for the test and has used A&L Great Lakes Labs and Ag Soil Management Labs.
- Other soil health metrics (earthworms, etc.)? Y/N plus a short description.
Yes, survey of earthworms and other macroinvertebrates with a shovel probe, and monitor soil compaction and crop residue cover in early summer.
- Erosion monitoring? Y/N with a short description if Yes
Yes, where needed grass waterways have been installed
- Water quality testing/monitoring? Y/N plus short description if Yes
Only at site with woodchip bioreactor (in partnership with Farm Bureau and U of I)
- Wildlife monitoring? Y/N plus short description if Yes
Anecdotal observations of bird and insect use of farm sites
- Is the farmer responsible for providing any of the above information?
Yes, copies of soil tests conducted by farmer are to be shared with the District. Farmer must also report pesticide use, crop summary data, and nutrient applications on an annual basis.
- Do you have any indexes or other systems for quickly assessing the practices and ecological health of a particular piece of farmland?
Shovel probes to assess soil moisture and structure and to count earthworms have been our best indicator of soil health.
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?
- Introducing bison grazing for grassland management
- Introducing pesticide restrictions in the District’s Ag Lease
- Establishing the District’s first Organic Lease and Conservation Ag Lease which focuses on soil health practices
- What are three of your institution’s biggest challenges around conservation-minded management of its farmland?
- Resistance from producers to try new practices because they are set in their ways or opinions
- Lack of respect from producer for what the Conservation District says is best for the farmland
- Public bid system which awards lease to highest bidder, rather than the most conservation-minded producer
- What changes are you considering making to your farmland management system over the next five years?
We are concerned about the residual effects of agricultural herbicides on the success of our ecological restorations. We are considered restricting the use of herbicides the year before a farm field is restored, and growing oats between the final crop and planting native seeds.
Interviewed: January 19, 2023
Brenna Ness, Agricultural Ecologist
Management Policy: The McHenry County Conservation District’s (MCCD) agricultural policy, established in 2007 and revised in 2015, serves as a north star for staff, management, board of trustees, and executive leadership when determining how the District’s farmland should be managed. If a situation or practice is not explicitly addressed or covered by the policy, staff have the flexibility to decide how to respond and implement decisions. There are also concerns that policies that are too strict and detailed force actions that are counterproductive to achieving the goals behind the policies. Policy makers can’t always foresee all of the situations that arise and how conditions will change.
Of the five stated goals of the agricultural policy, the first and highest is to conserve and protect the natural resources. In keeping with that goal, the District ultimately aims to restore all of the farmland it owns to natural habitat. Because of the sheer amount of farmland the District owns, however, it can’t restore all of it quickly. This transition will take time because of the volume of land and constraints on budgets and staff capacity.
Farmer Relationships: Compliance with lease requirements is an ongoing challenge, and we haven’t established a uniform procedure for dealing with non-compliance. This is further complicated by farmers that have been leasing the land for decades, predating the current ownership. As well as when these long-term farmers don’t have the necessary equipment to implement the more conservation-focused farming practices required in the lease. Community stakeholders are generally opposed to mandating conservation efforts. This can sometimes result in tension between the District and some of those in the farming community.
Leasing Structure: To increase conservation efforts on public land, the District may start to require some practices, like cover cropping, in its leases. Currently, conservation efforts are voluntary in leases. Tenants are incentivized to volunteer to participate with longer leases and discounts on rents.
Only about 18% of District farmland is cover cropped. While relations with farmers are generally considered good, it is estimated that only about five percent of farmers in the bidding pool are open to significant conservation efforts. These farmers tend to be young and/or beginning farmers.
Drain Tiles: A significant portion of the District’s annual farmland program budget is allocated to repairing drain tile and other related issues. “We don’t want to impact our neighbors because water issues related to drain tiles can obviously cross property boundaries and impact other farmers and landowners,” says Brenna Ness. When farmland is going to be restored to a wetland, the drain tiles will be removed, as long as the new hydrology won’t negatively impact the neighbors.
On-Farm Conservation Practices: The District has been considering how to allow for more grazing on their farmland. There are, however, some difficult infrastructural challenges for grazing, including the provision of water access, electricity, and fencing. In comparison to a state like Wisconsin, which provides much more support for grazers, state support from Illinois is marginal, making it more difficult to manage grazing. Currently, the District manages three grazing leases, which include cattle and sheep, bison, and goats. Because bison grazing requires more fencing investments, the District relied on the farmer to pay and build the fence. Without the farmer’s ability to pay for this capital expenditure, it is doubtful the District’s vision of having bison grazing on its land would have been realized.
As it pertains to edge-of-field practices, the District requires a 30-ft buffer on the edge of fields and a 65-ft buffer between farm fields and streams/rivers/ditches. In field conservation practices include crop rotation, conservation tillage in the spring, and no fall tillage. Strip tillage is permitted in the fall to work in fertilizer, but no nitrogen can be applied.
Organic Farming: The District currently has one organic lease. It is a six-year lease with three years for the transition to organic certification and a second three-year term with higher rent based on the assumption that certification has been secured and crops can be sold for the organic pricing premium. The organic farm leasing being done by the Forest Preserve District of Will County inspired the District to try it as well.
It is unclear whether there will be more organic farming leases anytime soon. “To be honest, I think that first crop year was a little bit experimental for the operator,” says Brenna Ness, “and there were a lot of learning curves. And we did not award them that lease until the end of January, which prevented them from getting cereal rye planted as a winter cover crop. I am happy they had a living crop in the ground year round.”
All subsequent leases on that property will need to be certified organic, whether the lease is renewed by the same tenant or taken up by a new tenant.
Chemical Management: Before Ness joined the District, there were, to her knowledge, no specific prohibitions on farm chemical usage. The only restriction was that no chemical could be used that would have negative residual impact after the lease expired. (Although this restriction remains in all farm leases, the District finds that it must remind its farmer-tenants of that clause, and even then there are farmers who fail to follow the requirements.)
Brenna began research and analysis of the District’s farm tenant’s pesticide use. The District now prohibits Dicamba and the use of soybean seeds coated with neonicotinoids. This was in large part based on the same changes made by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to their farm leases. “We felt that since they own a lot of farmland and work with a lot of farmers, they probably had a pretty good grasp on the impact that the restrictions would have on the farming community,” says Brenna Ness. There was also the sense that basing the District’s practices on state practices would make it more acceptable to community stakeholders.
“I would just add that in doing my own research,” says Brenna Ness, “it’s become abundantly clear that the chemicals and synthetic fertilizers that are applied to most farmland are detrimental to the soil microbiome. They can affect the nutritional quality of the crop. There can be impacts to non-target plants, wildlife, air, and water quality. All those things are really hard to swallow. But it’s also really hard when you don’t understand what the impacts of removing chemical use are going to be on the producer or the farmer. So that’s been a real challenge for me.”
Agricultural Conservation Index for Cropland
This worksheet shows data that is collected by MCCD staff about practices and conditions of particular farm properties that are then translated into an index rating, similar in principle to the Macroinvertebrate Aggregated Index for Streams.
Standard Agricultural Lease Agreement
Conservation Agriculture Lease Agreement
Tenant farmers who agree to these terms are provided a six-year lease instead of the normal three-year lease. Be sure to scroll down to Exhibit B to see what the Conservation Requirements with Soil Health Emphasis are.
Conservation Grazing Lease at Pleasant Valley