While much of the focus of the Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour has been on corn, and in particular, nitrogen use and runoff in corn, soybean growers are also interested in the event. “Corn is a major crop, but soybeans are also a rotational crop, and lot of the research they’re doing on nitrogen management is on corn-soybean rotation farms,” said Ron Moore, an Illinois soybean grower and At-Large Director of the Illinois Soybean Association. In an interview with Chuck, Moore said his association is involved in this year’s tour because they want to make sure opinions of soybean growers are heard in research discussions.

Moore continued that much of the same type of research being done on corn would also apply to soybeans. “Some of the new opinions are that maybe we need to think about putting fertilizer on for the soybean crop prior to planting in the spring,” adding that we probably need to think about soybeans the same as planning the corn crop and not just as an afterthought to corn.

He also pointed out that the fact that a lot of non-agricultural groups attended the tour should help farmers in general get their message out to the general public that producers are responsible curators of the land and just as interested in conservation as the non-farming groups are.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Ron here: Interview with Ron Moore, Illinois soybean grower & At-Large Director of the Illinois Soybean Association

2012 Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photo Album