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Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association, Inc.
News
Enhancing Equipment, Safety, and Payroll: What’s New in BusyBusy!
At BusyBusy, we’re committed to making time tracking and workforce management as seamless as possible. Our latest updates introduce powerful new features that put more control into your hands. Here’s what’s new with our 2025.1 release:
Are Nutrient Management Plans Working? Here’s What the Latest Water Quality Data Shows
As a sixth-generation farmer, Jeff O’Connor has seen his family farm change through the generations. The one common thread is a love of taking care of the land.
Trench Rescue & What to Expect from Your Local Fire Department
It is important to understand that for your local fire department or rescue squad, trench rescue is a low frequency/high risk event. Fire departments across the country can have rescuers trained to an awareness level, operations level, or technician level.
Legacy Phosphorus Sources Dominate P Losses from Tile Drains
Tile drainage is an important pathway for agricultural P losses in Ohio and Indiana, but little is known about the relative importance of newly applied P fertilizers and old soil P (aka legacy P) to tile drainage losses. Understanding these sources could help direct efforts to reduce P loss, for instance 4R fertilizer management practices will primarily reduce new P losses, while old P losses may require edge-of-field practices and/or drawdown of soil P.
Seriously, Call Before You Dig
National Safe Digging Month serves as a reminder that digging without locating utility lines results in injuries, loss of life and property damage every year.
Secretary Rollins Names NRCS Chief
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the appointment of Audrey Bettencourt to lead the department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Bettencourt is a third-generation California farmer and most recently served as the Global Director of Government Relations and External Affairs at Netafim, an international company specializing in irrigation technology.
7 Data Sources That Cut Project Costs and Time
Every project, no matter how big or small, is a race against time. The longer it takes, the less profitable it is. And while shortcuts can save time, they can also lead to accidents. Striking the right balance between efficiency, productivity, profitability and ensuring worker safety is always the goal but recent data shows construction projects are exceeding budgets.
OSHA's Focus Four Training Program
The four most common causes of worker fatalitiesin the construction industry are falls, being caught in or between machinery or equipment, being struck by objects, and electrocution. That is why we created a set of training resources to teach workers how to stay safe from these hazards.
Truck Driver Pinned, Crushed Between Backing Dozer and Truck
He was standing near the back of the truck when the dozer was being backed up. The dozer operator did not see the truck or driver. The truck driver was crushed between the dozer and the truck and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the patrol.
Are Nutrient Management Plans Working? Here’s What the Latest Water Quality Data Shows
Bringing science to actionable and practical insights to reduce nutrient runoff has been the task of a multi-state effort, developed in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan.
Personal Reflections for World Water Day
Water shapes lives, communities, and the world we share. For World Water Day, hear directly from our team members about what water means to them and why protecting it matters. Watch the video to see their perspectives and let their words remind us that water management is essential, today and every day.
Constructed Wetlands for Water Quality: Insights and farmer perspectives
In agriculture, wetlands can be a powerful tool used to intercept tile drainage, reducing nutrient loss for water quality improvement. An edge-of-field practice included in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Strategy (NLRS) suite of agricultural conservation practices. Wetlands, constructed or restored, have benefits for water quality and wildlife.
Describing Drainage Intensity and Drainage Coefficient
Learn about Drainage Intensity and Drainage Coefficient with a simple example. Learn how the main pipe should be sized for best drainage performance.
Transformingdrainage.org Conservation Drainage Tools
The TRANSFORMINGDRAINAGE.org project has developed a suite of tools aimed at improving water management in agricultural landscapes.
NACD Report Highlights Impacts of Funding Cuts
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has released a report about the impacts of recent Executive Orders and funding freezes on America’s locally led conservation delivery system, including conservation districts and the producers and communities they serve. The report was informed by a survey the association distributed to conservation districts last month, which received over 350 responses from across 45 states and territories.
Data Shows 70% Decline in Trench-Related Worker Fatalities
Common Ground Alliance (CGA) applauded the recent decline in trench-related fatalities highlighted by OSHA's preliminary data. This steep 70% decrease since 2022 shows the effectiveness of focused safety partnerships, including CGA's participation in OSHA's Safe Trenching and Excavation Operations Alliance, which emphasizes outreach, education and training.
Administration Initiates WOTUS Definition Reform
The seemingly never ending battle to bring reasonable rules to the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) took a positive turn when EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency had worked with the Army Corps of Engineers on new guidance clarifying the WOTUS definition to comport with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision.
Feather Prairie Farm: Conservation for Wildlife & Ag Resilience
Previously, ISAP offered a training on how conservation drainage practices –saturated buffers, bioreactors, controlled drainage, and constructed wetlands– can reduce pollution. We reached out to some of those trainees to learn how this training has been a benefit to them. One student was Wes Lehman, a conservation specialist and sales representative for Springfield Plastics, Inc. Wes his wife, Andie, also operate Feather Prairie Farm near Dwight, IL.
Springfield Plastics Welcomes Agri-Tile Inc. into Trusted Tiling Partner Program
Awarded to companies celebrating their business anniversary, this program highlights the quality and dedication to the work done in the agricultural tiling industry.
“We have been working with Agri-Tile since 2010 and are excited to make this company a member of our Trusted Tiling Partner program,” said Jennifer Furkin, Vice President of Springfield Plastics. “Springfield Plastics’ success is thanks in part to our customers and the pride that they take in delivering the best tile drainage systems in the country. We are excited to recognize Agri-Tile and Joel Sandeno and appreciate our strong, long-term business relationship.”
How Dashcams Are Enhancing Safety and Protecting Fleets From Fraud
Let's face it — we live in a world where everything is prone to going viral. A recent epidemic that has taken the Internet and social media platforms by storm is auto insurance fraud attempts, thanks to the rapid adoption of dashcams. Dashcams have become essential for businesses reliant on vehicles and heavy equipment. They offer protection against a nefarious trend—staged accidents that exploit commercial fleets for financial gain.