Popular Conservation Practices Highlight of NRCS Video Series

[July 19, 2024]    Across Illinois and around the country, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are working with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to implement conservation practices across agricultural working lands. These conservation practices help protect and improve natural resources on their operations.

To assist land managers in achieving their goals and objectives, NRCS’s Conservation at Work video series introduces conservation practices featuring the farmers and landowners using them. The videos share from the landowner’s perspective how working with NRCS to install conservation practices such as nutrient management, no-till and wetland restoration, has benefited their operations. The series now includes more than 75 videos, with more on the way, and most are shorter than two minutes.

“By sharing the conservation successes of our customers, we hope these videos will help educate those already working with NRCS to conserve natural resources while motivating more farmers and landowners to consider conservation,” said Illinois NRCS state conservationist Tammy Willis. “These videos are a great way to reach the next generation of producers and show them from a producer’s perspective how conservation practices are making a lasting difference on operations throughout the country.”

Housed on YouTube and featured on farmers.gov, the series was designed with the concept of “show, don’t tell.” The videos shine the spotlight on farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners from across the U.S. through their first-person testimonials as they share their conservation stories, and how practices are helping them protect and improve natural resources while saving time and money.

Videos featuring conservation practices that could be helpful to producers in Illinois include:

• Cover Crops

• Grassed Waterway

• Roof Runoff Structure

[Aaron Patrick
Public Affairs Specialist
USDA NRCS Illinois]