EQIP funding available
The USDA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service offer funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to farmers for a range of conservation practice initiatives that will improve water quality, decrease soil erosion and improve wildlife habitat. 

Farmers who have agricultural, pasture or forest land that falls within a certain initiative project area can apply for assistance by submitting an application by one of two dates: Jan. 20 or March 17. 

Contact your local NRCS field office to obtain more details about a specific initiative and to see if your project is in one of the project areas including: Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI), National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), Driftless Area Landscape Conservation Initiative (DALCI), Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership (Kinkaid Lake LRP) and Monarch Butterfly Project (Monarch).

Soybean Summit registration is open
The 2017 Illinois SoyAdvisor.com Soybean Summit will be held on Feb. 3 in Effingham at the Thelma Keller Convention Center and on Feb. 16 in Peoria at the Peoria Civic Center, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. These free events will cover the latest management techniques that protect the environment through sustainable practices.

Seating is limited, so register online at ilsoy.org/summit, or call 888-826-4011. The registration deadline for the Effingham summit is Jan. 20; for the Peoria summit, it's Feb. 2.

Spike in pork and beef exports
U.S. pork and beef exports achieved a double-digit increase from a year ago, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

October pork exports totaled 201,936 metric tons, up 14% year over year and the largest monthly volume since March 2014. Export value was up 16% at $521.1 million.

October beef export volume was 105,938 metric tons, up 12% from a year ago, while export value climbed 10% to $559.5 million.

“With pork production at a record level and beef production also on the rise, it is imperative that we work to expand global demand and accelerate the volume of product entering the international markets,” says Philip Seng, USMEF president and chief executive officer.