Helping Illinois farmers grow thriving crops and livestock has always been at the heart of University of Illinois Extension’s mission. Using feedback received from farmers and other agricultural stakeholders through a 2022 survey, Extension is currently implementing responsive changes and staffing additions that will further enhance the ability to provide real-time solutions and support across the agricultural landscape of the state.

Gaining Insights

Throughout 2022, Extension’s Assistant Dean and Agriculture and Agribusiness Program Leader Travis Burke and a team of Extension educators initiated a statewide survey on agricultural needs to gain valuable insights on the current and expected programming, educational, and training needs across agricultural topics. Over 300 survey respondents, including farm owners, workers, and advisors, shared their priorities for research and education along with their preferences for Extension programming format, timing, and content.

Extension educators are now developing programs based on the issues and priorities identified by Illinois farmers, particularly with respect to row crops, specialty crops, and livestock management. According to Commercial Agriculture Educator Talon Becker, “Soil health and quality emerged as a top outreach priority for both row crop and specialty crop producers. Extension is now working with the university’s Regenerative Agriculture Initiative on a series of programs on soil, including a field day this fall in which we will partner with the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership to provide an overview of the current ecosystem market landscape as well as provide an update on some of the research being done at the University that helps us better understand and hopefully improve methods for estimating and measuring carbon sequestration.” Local Foods Educator Bronwyn Aly has incorporated specialty crop producer needs into upcoming education and research as well. “The survey confirmed that there is widespread interest in using high tunnels, and our research and education will continue to focus on identified priority areas such as plant nutrition needs, pest identification, biological controls, and cover crops.”

More broadly, survey results will be used to shape statewide hiring in the future. Burke notes, “We heard loud and clear that agricultural stakeholders throughout Illinois would like a greater presence from Illinois Extension, and so we have hired seven new commercial agriculture and local foods and small farms systems educators, with plans to fill at least 10 positions by the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year."

Several departments within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences are also expanding capacity related to agriculture, with the addition of recent hires related to plant pathology, agricultural water quality, Extension agronomy, entomology, soybean breeding, economics of sustainable agriculture, swine behavior and management, and agricultural finance and risk management. Future Extension faculty specialists are expected to join the College and Extension in the next two years.
 

Source: illinois.edu

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