SWOF Farmer Spotlight: Quinn Trewartha
The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) is excited to highlight the work of Quinn Trewartha from northeast Illinois. Quinn is a 31-year-old fifth-generation farmer that took over his family’s operation a few years ago. Hear more from Quinn below on how he continues to expand the conservation efforts his dad began with help from SWOF. These practices have led to higher yields and reduced labor and equipment costs, helping Quinn carry on his family’s legacy.
Please tell us more about your operation.
I farm corn and soybeans on about a thousand acres, here in Livingston and LaSalle County. I evenly split that throughout the year, rotating every year between the two. Our soil type is very good here in this area. It's really optimal soil for corn and soybeans. We've got some of the best dirt, giving us high producing acres.
This is my home farm, and my family started farming this ground in about the 1950s. We also have some land several miles west of here that we’ve farmed since then as well. I started farming in 2020 but took over full time on this about a year and a half ago.
How did you get started with SWOF and what has it been like to work with our team?
We got introduced to the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund several years ago. We were watching the neighbor no-till and getting just as good of yields as we were with conventional till. So, we started to explore no-tilling. We learned more about the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, signed up, and have really started to see rewards through that.
It's been seamless, especially working with my local rep from SWOF. Clayton [SWOF Field Program Representative for Illinois] came to my shop, we sat down, and we mapped out all the fields―what crop they're going to and what practice we're planning on implementing. He outlined different options. There are so many different options you can do, and it can be tailor-fit to your farm. It took about an hour, I think.
After that, Clayton took the reins and handled everything with the FSA office to confirm acres. We were off and running. We got an email within a couple of weeks of the estimated payout. We were happy and we agreed to it and signed. It's just been seamless. That's a big advantage of working with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund.
The other good part is that it's not a ten-year commitment. This is a year-by-year thing where you can make changes. If it doesn't work out for you for whatever reason, you're not handcuffed to the program for ten years. Cover crops can be added on. Or for example, some of the counties that I farm in were not previously eligible with SWOF. As soon as I got wind that we could sign those up too, we were all over that because of the success we've had in the past.
What practices changes have you made through our program and how has that affected your operation?
Since enrolling with SWOF, we’ve gone from vertical tillage to implementing a full no-till system on our soybean acres and moving into more of a strip-till situation ahead of our corn acres. I’d say our return on investment has gone up. It's a lot less work than being in conventional till systems. We’re saving on our fuel and labor, and the depreciation of our equipment, less wear and tear. We're really seeing the benefit, field by field. Our five-year average yield has been just insane compared to what it used to be!
Plus, we don't have a chisel plow anymore, so that's one more piece of equipment we don't need. As far as a planter, all I do is have no-till coulters in front of my row units. It cuts through the residue and allows me to get good seed to soil contact. I’ll run some row cleaners as well on the planter, but costs on that is minimal compared to keeping up equipment for a full conventional tillage pass.
I've also been extremely happy with my weed control, especially in soybeans. From going through the no-till, it takes a little more upfront horsepower. But, at the end of the day, I think getting the coverage down from the corn residue has helped suppress weeds, especially tough to kill Waterhemp. So, I think we're gaining an advantage there, too.
Why is conservation so important to you?
I want to leave the ground better than when it came to me. I want to conserve the farm and pass it down to future generations and have it in good shape when I do that. I'm the youngest of four kids and I spent most of my time out here. Watching my dad farm and my grandpa farm, I just always knew it was something I wanted to do. For me, it's about legacy. It’s being out here, and it's being outside. It's seeing the fruit of what you grow every year. That’s really rewarding to me. And something I look forward to passing down to my next generations. You can say, well, it’s this many dollars per acre coming back to you, but it's more than that. It’s more about how I want to practice farming.
I'm most proud of being involved in a family farm and continuing our legacy. That's a big part of why I do this. I lost my dad about a year and a half ago, and he was the fourth generation on this farm. So being able to step in where he left off is really important to me.
If you want to begin or expand a conservation practice, such as reduced tillage, implementing a cover crop, or adding a crop rotation, please hurry to request a payment estimate. By enrolling your acres with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, you’ll receive agronomic support and earn financial incentives for the environmental outcomes of your on-farm conservation efforts. We are nearing the end of its 2024 enrollment season that opened to new farmer participants this past March. Farmers and landowners, please contact us today!
One of Quinn's fields enrolled with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund just before harvest in northeast Illinois.