On August 1-3, 2023, Illinois LICA installed a subsurface tile drainage system and a water & sediment control structure (WASCB) on the campus of Illinois Central College (ICC) in East Peoria. The field demonstration coincided with two separate tour events held during the same days on campus, as well as an OSHA Trench Safety-Competent Person certification training hosted by Illinois LICA.

Envisioned as a great addition to the Community College Alliance for Agriculture Advancement’s (C2A3) National Conference held on ICC’s campus in August, Illinois LICA was contracted to make a number of on-farm improvements to a 20-acre parcel of cropland recently acquired by the college. To address erosion and to create additional opportunities for the college’s ag department, which looks to plant research plots in the field, a NRCS designed water & sediment control basin (WASCB) and a subsurface tile drainage system on 50’ lateral spacings with 9 water control structures, to serve as water quality sampling ports, were installed.

These practice installations were the perfect tour stop for the C2A3 conference attendees as they traversed the campus learning about soil health, cover crops, and edge of field water quality practices, just as planned. The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP), of which Illinois LICA is a member, also hosted an Ag & Conservation Family Night the day prior to the conference tour but with nearly identical session stops for the public. And prior to that evening’s tour, Illinois LICA hosted a full day workshop for OSHA trench safety-competent person certification. The course included both classroom and in-field training, taking advantage of the multiple trench scenarios onsite at the ICC project demonstration.

ILICA would like to sincerely thank our generous Associates and partners for their donations including equipment, materials, and manpower:

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.; Agri Drain Corp.; Alta Equipment Company; Birkey's; Bradford Supply Company; Central Plastic Products, Inc.; Fratco, Inc.; Martin Equipment of Illinois, Inc.; Mid America Trenchers, LLC;  Prinsco, Inc.; River Valley Pipe, LLC; Roland Machinery Co.; Springfield Plastics, Inc.

Thank you to the ILICA contractor members who volunteered their time, expertise, staff, and equipment towards the construction of this project including:

Armando Alanis, Steve Anderson, Stuart Anderson, Tom Beyers, Brian Brooks, Tyler Brooks, Justin Cole, Theodore Graff, David Kennedy, Eric Layden, Wayne Litwiller, Jon Seevers, Mark Shortz

Finally, the biggest thank you to the ILICA show committee chairmen, Brian Brooks & Jon Seevers; Illinois Central College; and Illinois NRCS for their support and for considering us a partner on this project!