Bill Text: IL SJR0044 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares the first full week of March 2022 as "Illinois Soil Health Week" and the Wednesday of that week as "Illinois Soil Health Day".
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-12-22 - Chief Sponsor Changed to Sen. Don Harmon [SJR0044 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SJR0044-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Soil is an essential natural resource, and | ||||||
3 | Illinois farmers and professionals play a critical role in | ||||||
4 | managing Illinois soil and water resources; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) | ||||||
6 | of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines | ||||||
7 | soil health as the continued capacity of soil to function as a | ||||||
8 | vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and | ||||||
9 | humans; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The concept of soil health across the Illinois | ||||||
11 | landscape is not new but is only recently recognized as needed | ||||||
12 | to prevent soil degradation and combat climate change; the | ||||||
13 | degradation of soil can be rapid, while the formation and | ||||||
14 | regeneration processes can be very slow; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The protection of Illinois soil is essential to | ||||||
16 | the long term prosperity and sustainability of the soil and | ||||||
17 | water resources of our State, counties, and cities, and the | ||||||
18 | six basic principles of soil health necessary for that | ||||||
19 | protection are to: | ||||||
20 | (1) minimize soil disturbance and external inputs, | ||||||
21 | including reduced tillage; | ||||||
22 | (2) maximize plant and microbial diversity; |
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1 | (3) maintain the presence of living roots; | ||||||
2 | (4) keep the soil covered, including with cover crops | ||||||
3 | and crop residue, to armor the soil; | ||||||
4 | (5) integrate animals into land management, including | ||||||
5 | grazing animals, birds, beneficial insects, or keystone | ||||||
6 | species, such as earthworms; and | ||||||
7 | (6) incorporate the context of local conditions in | ||||||
8 | decision-making, including for example soil type, | ||||||
9 | topography, and time of year; and be it further
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10 | WHEREAS, Soil health principles and its associated | ||||||
11 | practices of no-till, cover crops, nutrient management plans, | ||||||
12 | and longer crop rotations enhance the ability of farmers to | ||||||
13 | meet the non-point source pollution goals for nitrate-nitrogen | ||||||
14 | and phosphorus; it is essential to reduce the amount of | ||||||
15 | nutrients flowing off of farm fields and into our watersheds; | ||||||
16 | with these reduced nutrient losses from agriculture lands, | ||||||
17 | which are detailed in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction | ||||||
18 | Strategy (NLRS), farmers will be able to meet desired outcomes | ||||||
19 | as outlined by the Mississippi River Basin Hypoxia Task Force | ||||||
20 | for the Gulf of Mexico; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Soil health principles provide for the reduction | ||||||
22 | of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through the sequestration | ||||||
23 | of carbon within the upper reaches of the soil profile; this | ||||||
24 | carbon mitigation improves the organic matter content in the |
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1 | soil and provides a stable biome for soil organisms, improves | ||||||
2 | nutrient transfer from soil to root, and increases water | ||||||
3 | infiltration and water holding capacity; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Despite soil's importance to human health, the | ||||||
5 | environment, nutrition and food, feed, fiber, and fuel | ||||||
6 | production, there is little public awareness of the importance | ||||||
7 | of soil protection; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois should be actively raising | ||||||
9 | awareness of the importance of soil health and promoting its | ||||||
10 | stewardship to safeguard this resource for future generations | ||||||
11 | of Illinois citizens; therefore, be it
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12 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
13 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF | ||||||
14 | REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare the first | ||||||
15 | full week of March 2022 as "Illinois Soil Health Week" and the | ||||||
16 | Wednesday of that week as "Illinois Soil Health Day"; and be it | ||||||
17 | further
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18 | RESOLVED, That these two celebrations and their related | ||||||
19 | activities will improve the awareness of Illinois farmers and | ||||||
20 | agri-business toward the importance of the air and water | ||||||
21 | quality environment for all of the citizens the State; and be | ||||||
22 | it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | presented to the Director of the Department of Agriculture, | ||||||
3 | the Office of the Governor, the Chair of the Illinois Senate | ||||||
4 | Agriculture Committee, and the Chair of the Illinois House | ||||||
5 | Agriculture & Conservation Committee.
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