Subscribe for Bulletins delivered right to your inbox.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is the season for giving thanks. STAR is thankful for our talented, passionate team of experts and our enthusiastic, innovative, and supportive partners – a large STAR family. We thank everyone who is part of the STAR team – our contractors, funders, board members, state Steering and Science Committee members, state Affiliate staff, STAR Navigators, supporting partners and individuals, and the farmers and ranchers who are using the STAR Tool and helping to guide the development and expansion of STAR in the West and Midwest.

People, relationships, and community are what makes us successful and what will, ultimately, make conservation successful. The work we do must connect in a very personal way to the producers we support and the teams we are building across the country. Our learnings this year about social and behavioral sciences and the drivers of individual actions have helped us refine and improve the STAR tool, strengthen the STAR framework, and expand the STAR network. It takes many individuals with a willingness to work as a team for the greater good. Thank you for your support of STAR this year!

STAR Focuses on Social and Behavioral Science Learnings to Better Meet Producer’s Needs

For producers, shifting to conservation systems can involve a lot of learning, hard work, and commitment, despite the uncertainty and risk. STAR’s goal is to help make this process easier and more streamlined by providing a simple evaluation, clear next steps, and customized support. To better understand how we could do this most effectively, we spent time this year listening – to the farmers, ranchers, and landowners who are using STAR and to social and behavioral science experts who are studying producer behavior change. We’ve listened to them as we’ve been refining the STAR framework, building out the new STAR WebTool, designing field forms and scoring for new states and production systems, and creating a strategy for grazing lands. Their feedback and suggestions are being incorporated for the 2025 enrollment year.

To support our development of new features for the soon to be launched Conservation Innovation Plan (CIP) component of the STAR WebTool, we have been working with social and behavioral scientists and experts. The CIP is an interactive planning process that is tailored to a producer’s specific situation and identified needs and barriers. STAR recognizes that producers need a whole package of educational, technical, and financial resources, including one-on-one technical support, to help them solve problems in their operations and incorporate conservation as a solution to potential production challenges and conservation barriers. Through a unique program of support from the Walton Family Foundation, the STAR team was given an opportunity to participate in an intensive 13-week Design Sprint with Ideas42, a non-profit organization that uses insights from behavioral science to improve lives, build better systems and policies, and drive social change. The Ideas42 team of experts helped STAR think critically and creatively about how to identify barriers to enrollment and conservation implementation and how to design features that could encourage and inspire producers to engage and take action. We are excited to be able to share some of these new features with producers when we roll out the new CIP for Illinois in early December which will be followed by another exciting new initiative next spring once 2025 enrollment begins!

STAR Producer Reward Payment Program

Siemer Milling Company is committed to connecting growers with opportunities to help preserve their land and legacy. In Summer 2024, Siemer worked with STAR to identify eligible fields and compensate growers in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky who implemented conservation practices that result in an improved STAR Rating or an outstanding (5-STAR) Rating. The STAR Siemer Producer Rewards Payment Program successfully wrapped up this month with 13 farmers submitting 56 fields covering 3,245 acres for crop year 2024. Of those acres, 2,474 qualified for payments and completed STAR verification. Ultimately, 10 farmers will receive payments totaling $65,421.95 on 2,233 acres. Of all acres submitted, 58% qualified by maintaining a 5-STAR rating, 36% qualified by improving from a 4 to a 5 STAR rating, 5% qualified by improving from a 3 to a 5 STAR rating, and 1% qualified by improving from a 3 to a 4 STAR rating.

STAR Welcomes New Affiliates and Navigators

Welcome New Mexico STAR!

Last month, the National STAR Team attended the 2024 New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts (NMACD) Annual Conference in Albuquerque. One of the main highlights was formally signing an Affiliate Agreement between NMACD and STAR to help launch the New Mexico STAR to farmers and ranchers in 2025. During the conference, STAR gave a training to District employees in attendance to demonstrate the STAR WebTool and also gave a presentation about the general framework of the STAR program and its upcoming New Mexico customization to the full audience. STAR also hosted an in-person meeting with members of the Steering & Science Committees to preview tasks for development of field and grazing forms. Lots of excitement was shared by participants about how STAR can help boost progress in conservation across the state!

Learn more about NM STAR.

Highlighting Steve Kadas, NM STAR Coordinator

Steve Kadas is the owner/operator of Soil Health LLC. He is currently working with the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts as their Soil Health Specialist and Program Manager. Steve worked for the NRCS as the State Resource Conservationist (SRC) in New Mexico when he retired after a 34-year career. As SRC, he supervised and managed the Ecological Science Department in NM.  He is highly skilled in conservation planning, practice standards and specifications, and several conservation programs.  He is also highly skilled in working with conservation partners such as Conservation Districts, government agencies, NGOs and other partners.

It’s Official! – Missouri and Iowa STAR Affiliates Sign New Agreements

Two STAR Affiliates formally signed Affiliate Agreements to lead their state programs in conjunction with the direction of National STAR: the Missouri Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) to lead MO STAR, and Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) to lead IA STAR. IA STAR has made 2024 field forms available and is continuing to revamp the program to reflect Iowa’s specific needs. MO STAR will be rolling out field forms for the first time in 2025.

Welcome New IL STAR Navigators!

Last month, three more districts officially signed on as STAR Navigators in the Illinois STAR program: Jefferson, Peoria, and Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). They extend the STAR network in Illinois and will support STAR farmers in their district by helping participants complete STAR field forms, guiding them in using their Conservation Innovation Plans, and providing technical assistance as they plan and implement conservation activities and practices.

STAR Welcomes New Staff

Asia Clark, STAR Intern
Asia Clark has joined STAR as a communications intern for the fall. She is a current graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Masters of Public Affairs program with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. She hopes to use her knowledge of nonprofit management and experience of marketing and communications to serve organizations and their community. Asia also holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from UNC Greensboro. She is passionate about serving organizations and educating others to live better lives.

STAR Producers & Participants in the Spotlight

One Good Idea is a multimedia clearinghouse where farmers can learn from other farmers about how to be successful and profitable with soil health and other stewardship practices. Recently they shared new videos and podcasts from Farmers for Soil Health. Their video profiles and podcast interviews with farmers from their network are chock-full of practical ideas related to cover crops, no-till, and other soil health practices. STAR farmers and participants are included in this group through videos – such as Joe Rothermel (IL STAR farmer, STAR co-founder, and IL STAR Steering Committee Member), Frank Rademacher (IL STAR farmer), and Ryan Britt (MO STAR Steering Committee Member).

Get Involved in STAR for Grazing Lands

As highlighted in our Bulletin last month we have begun a process to develop regional field forms and scoring for grazing lands to be launched in the Spring of 2025. The primary goal of STAR for Grazing Lands is to support rancher continuous learning and implementation of practices that leverage ecosystem processes, enhance conservation objectives, and enable a thriving agricultural operation. We believe that livestock production on grazing lands can be harmonious with nature in ways that are beneficial for economic production and ecological function and are committed to building STAR for Grazing Lands in a way that recognizes both the uniqueness of each ranch and the universality of the principles of good grazing management.

Gathering local input from producers, grazing experts, and other stakeholders is critical for developing successful tools. We look forward to working with representatives from the grazing community as we continue development of STAR for Grazing Lands and encourage you to contact us if you would like to participate in the advisory group or stakeholder network or just to learn more about STAR’s Grazing Land work. You can also use the STAR for Grazing Lands Development – Interest Form to indicate your interest.

See STAR Soon at…

National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) 2025 North Central Region Partners Meeting
January 9 – 10, Des Moines, IA
The 2025 North Central Region Partners’ Meeting will be held January 9 – 10 at the Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton in Des Moines, IA. This year’s program includes topics such as extreme weather trends, challenges, and projections; conservation practices to mitigate these challenges in a productive and profitable operation; and understanding carbon markets and how to navigate the different programs available. STAR Program Director, Jake Deutmeyer will be attending to connect with stakeholders in the North Central region about STAR’s expansion and development. Read the full agenda and register.

Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Annual Conference
January 27 – 28, Indianapolis, IN
The annual statewide conference organized for Indiana’s 92 Soil and Water Conservation Districts offers a chance for professionals, researchers, academics, industry leaders, farmers, and other stakeholders in natural resource protection to come together. STAR will be a conference sponsor. Jake Deutmeyer, STAR Program Director, will be hosting a STAR booth to share more information about STAR. STAR wants to connect with and hear from local stakeholders to help guide the development of IN STAR and new field forms and scoring for 2025, so stop by the booth to share your perspectives! Read the full agenda and register.

Montana Soil Health Symposium
February 4 – 6, 2025, Billings, MT
The Montana Soil Health Symposium will take place February 4 – 6, 2025 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. STAR will be hosting a booth and STAR team members will be attending. STAR Program Director, Jake Deutmeyer, and Max Neumeyer from Ground Up Consulting hope to connect with Montana stakeholders about STAR’s expansion and grazing development efforts in the West, so stop by the booth to visit with them. Read the full agenda and register.

NACD Annual Meeting
February 8 – 12, Salt Lake City, UT 
Hosted in partnership with the Utah Association of Conservation Districts, the 2025 meeting will explore the theme “Bee the Change: Reaching New Summits in Conservation!”. Look for STAR team members, including Jake Deutmeyer, STAR Program Director, Natalie Kerr, IL STAR Coordinator, and Katie Ottmann, UT STAR Coordinator who will be presenting on a panel entitled “When the STARs align: Partnership and program development stories from state level Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) Affiliates”. Read the full agenda and register.

Society for Range Management 2025 Annual Meeting
February 9 – 13, Spokane, WA
The SRM is a professional scientific society and conservation organization whose members are concerned with studying, conserving, managing and sustaining the varied resources of the rangelands which comprise nearly half the land in the world. The annual meeting brings in over 1,000 participants to share scientific and practice-based information on range management best practices.

Along with partners from Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado State University, and Rangeland Living Laboratory, STAR will be participating in a Symposium on Tuesday afternoon, February 11th titled: “Aiming for the STARs: Advancing Healthy Rangelands by Supporting Rancher Decision-Making”. Join Jody Bickel, CEO at Creekbank Associates; Caroline Wade, Executive Director at STAR; Anna Clare Monlezun, Rancher, La Dolce Vita Ranch | Rangeland Ecosystem Scientist, Graze LLC; Megan Macmuller, Research Scientist, Colorado State University; and Reece Melton, Soil Health Specialist, Colorado Department of Agriculture as they discuss how process-based programs can help advance conservation on grazing lands. The speakers will highlight how the “healthy rangelands” story is far more complex than a set of ecological outcomes alone. Effective livestock grazing is a story of human processes, observation, evaluation, and decision-making. Could process-based programs that inspire, guide, and evaluate grazing management through a standardized approach better reflect that story? The panel will focus on STAR as an opportunity to provide diverse perspectives on process-based, rancher-focused grazing programs, from theory to implementation. Read more and register.