The Tree
T h e U W D i s c ove r y Fa r m s N e w s l e t t e r
Winter 2015
Special Edition: The Farmer’s Voice
OUR DISCOVERY FARM EXPERIENCE The Koepkes
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e, the Koepkes, were an active research site for Discovery Farms from 2005-2009, and had done some runoff monitoring prior to that with the Wisconsin Buffer Initiative from 2003-2005. In that time frame, we had the opportunity to see how our free stall dairy farm, which uses a complete no-till cropping system, compares with other farming systems around the state. In 1955, my grandfather, Harvey Koepke, told a neighbor, “My land is my bank, and my bank is my land.” It must have stuck, as the neighbor sold him her farm shortly thereafter! “My land is my bank” exemplifies the ethic he instilled in us, just as his father had him: taking care of the soil is of the utmost importance to maintaining a successful farm. The seeds to better ourselves have been there a long time, and Discovery Farms helped us quantify the results of some of our efforts. continued on page 4
INSIDE
Our Discovery Farm Experience......................................... 1 On Nitrogen Use Efficiency.......................................................... 1 Discovery Farms WInter Conference.................................. 2 Reflecting on the Past, Looking to the Future................... 3 Creating Practical Solutions................................................ 5 Congratulations Herricks!................................................... 5 DF Minnesota Simonsen Family Profile............................. 6 Words of Wisdom from Keith York of PDPW...................... 7 Yahara Pride Watershed Conference................................. 7
The Koepke Family
ON NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY Callie Herron
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As far as nitrogen management,” explained Dave West, Independent Crop Consultant in Southwest Wisconsin, “I try to ride the line between maximizing yield and not over or underestimating any nitrogen.” He is not alone. Unfortunately, we all know, this line is often more elusive than a needle in a haystack. It is this desire, however, that has led many farmers, including some of the farmers Dave West works with in the Jersey Valley Watershed, to participate in the new UW Discovery Farms Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) Farmer Network. Over the next several years this program will assist farmers in conducting their own on-farm evaluations of NUE and offer them the opportunity to test management practices for improvements. Many of the participating farmers have already completed nutrient management plans and are looking for the next method to improve nutrient efficiency and crop yield. continued on page 2
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available.” And as with all the farmer participants, he feels there is “always the hope of trying to get more efficient with the nitrogen you are putting on and the timing of it. When you need it and when the best time is to put it on and what is the best way to put it on.”
Mr. West goes on to explain that “you don’t want to be wasting farmers’ money, you don’t want to be overapplying for nitrates and groundwater sake and you don’t want to underapply because farmers need to get as much yield as they can.”
Bob Erickson, a crop farmer on his home farm in the Mr. West currently uses various strategies when it comes to nitrogen management from pre-sidedress Jersey Valley watershed, thinks “maybe we can come up with some idea as to what is the right nitrate tests, which he described as “We want to see what we are amount [of nitrogen]. Plus if it is an not so black and white to interpret, to taking manure and legume getting out of the manure advantage to do the split application credits, to identifying other factors in and want to know when it is then that is what we should be doing. But that varies quite a bit … with what the field that may be impacting yield available.” the weatherman throws at you. … If like compaction. - Dennis Mitchell, St. Croix County [this project] proves that split Mr. West hopes to take the application is a better way of doing it I information gained from this project would be in favor of changing.” and use it to help the producers he works with be more From preliminary tests Bob sees that his current efficient with their nitrogen use. Specifically, he thinks nitrogen application strategy seems to be working well it’s possible that he needs to give “a little more credit to and finds split application to be difficult in an area like consecutive years of manure and reduce the nitrogen the Driftless Region with its many hills and contour rates in those situations.” strips. However, he is open to change. Dennis Mitchell, a dairy and cash grain farmer in St. The project won’t offer any farmer a silver bullet but it Croix County, is using the project as a way to help him will provide additional information about when to check on the turkey manure application methods used apply, what to apply, how much to apply, and where to on his farm, especially with corn-on-corn. He explained apply it. The project has only just begun so expect to that on his farm they are wondering “how much we are hear more about farmer experiences and results in the retaining through the spring time and summer. … That coming years! § is the main reason. We want to see what we are getting out of the manure and want to know when it is
Jason Fussy speaks about his experience with in-season nitrogen management to a crowd of over 100 farmers, crop consultants, and agency personnel at the UW-Discovery Farms Managing Nitrogen
Conference.
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REFLECTING ON THE PAST, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Richard Gorder, Steering Committee Chairman
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he more things change the more they stay the same. We’ve all heard or used that expression through the years on a variety of issues and concerns.
farms. They have held fast to their mission and have conducted quality research on farms across the state for over a decade. While Discovery Farms is structured and staffed through UW-Extension and UW-Madison CALS, research projects are directed by a Steering Committee made up of agriculture stakeholders. The stakeholders are Wisconsin farmers and agriculturalists that meet a couple times a year to review ongoing research and make sure that it Richard Gorder relates to the environmental challenges Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Farm Bureau today’s Wisconsin farmers face.
Environmental concerns have been a part of agriculture’s vocabulary for generations. My dad was one of the first farmers in Iowa County to install contour strips and waterways as a means to control water and soil runoff in the 1950s.
Over the last ten years there have been reams of onfarm research published by Discovery Farms. Edge-offield monitoring data collected on participating farms and other research has helped clarify the effectiveness of Best Management Practices and refine the use of the Phosphorus Index. Discovery Farms has also published information on the effectiveness of leachate systems, dynamics of tile drainage discharge, and considerations for winter manure management to name a few.
Daily haul of cattle manure was standard operating procedure while I was growing up on our dairy farm near Mineral Point. I remember my neighbors grumbling about the idea that at some point in the future someone may dictate when and where we could haul manure. Fast forward. We still seem to do our share of grumbling, but today we are besieged by a plethora of rules and regulations that do indeed restrict the way we farm. Strategies to regulate non-point pollution became reality in the late 1990s when the Department of Natural Resources proposed and adopted the NR 151 Performance Standards followed by ATCP 50, NR 243, NRCS 590, Phosphorus Index and more. Today the list seems endless and at times burdensome.
We still have a lot of work to do. In the future, Discovery Farms research must, as their mission statement charges, apply economic analysis to the data collected from participating farms. It is imperative that the research conducted at Discovery Farms gives value and confidence to farmers so the environment is protected while economic viability is maintained. Just as agriculture is dynamic and ever changing, so too must Discovery Farms and the research it conducts be. I may farm different than my father did, but I still have the same environmental stewardship philosophy and commitment to agriculture’s future.
Some rules and the models used to support them have lacked data from on-farm scientific research. Over the years we’ve needed to both quantify what really takes place on our farms and give farmers confidence that suggested practices will actually accomplish what they are meant to achieve.
I hope you value, as I do, all that Discovery Farms has done and is doing to ensure Wisconsin agriculture and the environment are both sustainable for future generations. §
The concept of Discovery Farms came about because of that disconnect between perceptions and on-farm realities. Discovery Farms is, as their mission statement suggests, charged with the task of developing on-farm and related research to determine the economic and environmental effects of agricultural practices on a diverse group of Wisconsin
Photo courtesy of Richard Gorder 3 The Tree-Winter 2015
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interesting data set. We learned keeping cover on the ground (and preferably attached to the ground) is essential, and that means every day of the year.
In 1986, in an attempt to better conserve our soil resource, we adopted a no-till strategy. We did a little at first, and then slowly added more acres to our no-till regime. The results were outstanding: the same or better yields, markedly reduced soil erosion, drastically reduced fuel and machinery costs, and much to the relief of the Koepke children- NO MORE PICKING ROCKS!
Sometimes, that means making compromises. This philosophy means we don’t mechanically incorporate manure, which does pose challenges from a soluble phosphorous management standpoint. This is definitely something to work on, and at times we wish the data collection equipment was still here to measure the impacts of the changes we’ve made.
Discovery Farms came on to our farm a year or so after we parked the chisel plow in the weeds for the last time. Questions remained: What effects did leaving manure on the surface have on water quality? If there were drawbacks, did the benefits outweigh them?
It’s important to remember that we can’t incorporate manure in the fall with the chisel plow, magically leave all the crop residue on top, and think we are going to be “no-till” the following spring!
What we learned: Our system was sound, but like anything, there is room for improvement.
3. Perennial crops such as alfalfa and other hay crops are essential. If our data showed anything, it was that nutrient losses were much less in our alfalfa than row crops. Maybe it’s the fact they are growing most actively during the “eventful” months of AprilJune, maybe it’s the soil cover, maybe those deep roots. Whatever it is, alfalfa reduced our losses to surface waters and to tile more than anything else.
The take-home messages: 1. We are never done learning. Frustrating as it is, we can always improve and make things better. And sometimes those little improvements offer big results. One of the first “Discovery Farms Induced” changes was to our crop rotation. A good portion of our land was in a rotation of 3 years of alfalfa, corn, soy, corn. We also had a number of flat acres in continuous corn. Discovery Farms staff had found relatively high soil nitrate levels after the first year of corn following alfalfa, and suggested a rotation of 3 years alfalfa, 2 years of corn, beans, corn. That simple change allowed us to credit that leftover N to next year’s corn crop (50 lb credit, reducing N purchases by $25 per acre on average), allowed us to rotate alfalfa on more acres, and resulted in us dropping our continuous corn production to almost zero. That continuous corn was also our most expensive, input intensive corn. Reducing inputs while increasing yield and conservation… that’s hard to argue with!
In an era of increasing tonnage yields, with more and more corn silage, we need to keep hay crops in the mix to maintain and improve water quality. In summary, we need to keep learning, and keep getting better at what we do. As other Discovery Farms participants have said, we need to be proactive. Being less than that will most likely result in more regulations that allow us less room for innovation! Let’s keep up our game, and be ready for the future. §
N management here has been in a state of change since Discovery Farms left. In very recent years, we’ve attempted to do more side dressing of N rather than placing it all with the corn planter. It seems as if early results are positive from a yield standpoint. It is our hope that the greater N efficiency results in less loss to the environment. 2. We need to manage for all 365 days in a year. Nutrient losses usually occur after major storm events. Our biggest runoff events occurred during and after severe storms (of which we had plenty during our data collection!). Large hail twice in 2007, followed by flooding in 2008 that closed roads, etc. made for an
The next generation helping out on the Koepke farm. 4
The Tree-Winter 2015
CREATING PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Tom Novak, Steering Committee Member
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ife delivers all kinds of twists and turns and sometimes sends us in directions we don’t expect. And that is somewhat how I became a Discovery Farms steering committee member. I have had a career as an independent crop consultant in Southeast/South Tom Novak (middle) chats with fellow 2014 Central Wisconsin for the past 25 years; have farmed conference attendees with my wife, Tracey, raising corn, soybeans and vine It can feel like practicality of implementation is left up crops on about 350 acres; and, most importantly, am to the farmer and private industry to figure out. Any raising two daughters. We seldom have a slow time doubts about the practicality component? I had a and I tend to forget things if I don’t write them down. chance to look through the most current version of the A couple years ago I got an email from Discovery WI NRCS 590 revision going on now. In the tech note it Farms about an upcoming steering committee is suggested “when possible, divert urine away from meeting. Looking confused and wondering why the feces.” I suggest the person that heck I got this message, I made a call inserted this idea into the tech to the listed contact to straighten “What impresses me most is the note stand behind a cow and this out. A nice lady named Judy study how practical and diverse group of people and Goplin answered and said, yes, I am on the committee, and then interests that are involved in the economical this idea is! explained how this came to be. The steering committee is farmer program. “ Turns out I had a conversation with driven as it should be. The farmer Bob Oleson from the Wisconsin Corn members are truly passionate Growers about six months earlier where he asked me if about agriculture and protecting the environment. I wanted to “volunteer” as a steering committee What impresses me most is the diverse group of member. It was summer, an extremely busy time, so to people and interests that are involved in the program. keep the conversation short I told Bob, “sure, I can do We have agency personnel from DATCP and DNR on that.” And here I am, without any regrets I might add! board. Industry is well represented as are all the major commodity groups in the state. Even more impressive I have followed Discovery Farms with interest since its is representation from the environmental faction. We inception. The work they do is tremendously can’t have an honest conversation about the important to Wisconsin farmers. The data collected is environment without these groups at the table. real-world and current. It is not created from models Agriculture is a leaky system by the biologic nature of using simulated results. Discovery Farms is helping to it. Hopefully by increasing awareness of what make regulations put into place “because we have to agriculture is, realistic goals and expectations will do something” more informed and practical. continue to be set. §
Congratulations to Jack and Pat Herricks on winning the 2014 Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award. Celebration to come this summer!
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MEASURING UP TO A HIGH STANDARD IN WATER QUALITY MEANS THE WORLD TO SIMONSEN FAMILY
that run off their fields. “Water quality is very important to farmers throughout the country,” Paul Simonsen said in a recent interview. “It’s going to be more and more important as time goes on. I thought, this is something where I can do my part….monitoring nutrients or sediment running off.”
by Jonathan Eisenthal
The Simonsens divide their farm into a three-part rotation, raising corn on one third and soybeans on a second third. For many years, they raised vegetable crops on the remaining third, but switched to sugar beets recently.
This article originally appeared in Minnesota Cornerstone on 12/8/14 as part of an ongoing series to highlight Minnesota corn farmers participating in Discovery Farms Minnesota.
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or years, Diamond Lake has been the summer gathering place for the Simonsen family. Four years ago Paul and Janet built a house there to replace the family cabin. Fishing, swimming and jet skiing all have their devotees among the three generations.
Paul said the Discovery Farms field monitor has already yielded interesting data in their first three years of participation.
So Paul and Janet Simonsen, who farm in Renville County, are very conscious about water quality.
“I’ve learned that run-off from farms is probably not as extreme as what some groups say,” Simonsen reported. “On my farm, we are finding there hasn’t been very much run off. And I’ve got open tile inlets — some people say they’ll soon be a thing of the past, but the amount of sediment and nutrient flowing through and running off has been very low.” Simonsen noted that even this year, when the field monitor recorded 14 inches of rain on their farm in June, they did not see elevated levels of sediment and nutrients. But Simonsen didn’t join Discovery Farms to pat himself on the back. He, like the other farmers in the program, know that every farm in Minnesota is different and more real-world, on-farm data is needed.
Renville County, Minnesota
The more years of data from a variety of farm types That might be the top reason they decided to sign on farmers have, the better farmers can understand how with the farmer-funded to adjust practices to minimize research program called the impact on the environment. Minnesota Discovery Farms The Simonsen’s have always — 11 different farm been interested in conservation operations across and stewardship of natural Minnesota, representing the resources. Paul and Janet spectrum of crops, planted 90-foot buffer strips of cultivation methods, native prairie vegetation along topography and geography the entire length, on both sides, that can be found in of the county ditch that runs Minnesota agriculture — across their land. united by an interest in developing real-world, on“The idea of creating wildlife farm data about the amount habitat really appealed to me,” of sediment and nutrients said Simonsen. “I really enjoy Paul Simonsen and his wife Janet continued on page 7 6 The Tree-Winter 2015
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hunting pheasant, and I like to see the wildlife that’s attracted to the prairie grass and that makes use of it.” Paul is a past president of Minnesota Corn Growers Association, and currently serves as chairman of the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council. His work on behalf of soybean growers has taken him to 10 foreign countries, all in Asia, most recently to Vietnam — the fastest growing export market for American-grown soybeans. The Simonsen family takes pride in its role providing food to a growing world, and doing it in a way that preserves the natural world for generations to come. §
Aerial View of Simonsen Farm Photo courtesy of Discovery Farms Minnesota
FROM THE FARMER’S VOICE... “I have found that it isn’t necessary to jump in and refute every assertion made about dairy foods or dairy farming. Instead of being quick to react, try asking a question. Listen carefully, and learn more about why people say the things they do. What are their sources of information?
I have found that I learn more when I do not automatically assume the defensive position. We can foster critical thinking about food and animal welfare issues if we start by listening and asking great questions.” - Keith York, President, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Board of Directors
Keith York
Photo courtesy of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin
Yahara Pride Watershed Wide Conference When: Thursday, March 5th, 2015 Time: 10:30 am to 2:30 pm Where: Comfort Inn & Suites, Deforest, WI Audience: farmers, crop consultants, agribusiness representatives, agency personnel, technical service providers For more detailed information visit www.yaharapridefarms.org or email rachel@ yaharapridefarms.org
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PIGEON FALLS, WISCONSIN 54760 NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
University of Wisconsin
PERMIT NO. 2
Cooperative Extension Trempealeau County Discovery Farms PO Box 429, 40195 Winsand Drive Pigeon Falls, WI 54760-0429
Return Service Requested
For more information and to stay connected:
facebook.com/uwdiscoveryfarms fyi.uwex.edu/discoveryfarms twitter.com/DiscoveryFarms youtube.com/DiscoveryFarms
Co-Directors Eric Cooley 608-235-5259 etcooley@wisc.edu Amber Radatz 608-317-0001 aradatz@wisc.edu Faculty Advisor Matt Ruark 608-263-2889 mdruark@wisc.edu Nitrogen Use Efficiency Project Coordinator Megan Chawner 608-262-0383 chawner@wisc.edu Outreach Specialist Kevan Klingberg 715-983-2240 kevan.klingberg@ces.uwex.edu
Outreach Specialist Callie Herron 715-983-5668 callie.herron@ces.uwex.edu This newsletter can be found on the web at: Program Assistant www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org Judy Goplin 715-983-5668 jgoplin@wisc.edu Research Specialist Regarding the mailing list, call/e-mail 715-983-5668 or Aaron Wunderlin 920-839-5431 aaron.wunderlin@ces.uwex.edu jgoplin@wisc.edu Dry Run Watershed Coordinator UW Discovery Farms is a producer-led research and outreach program based out of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The Todd Prill 715-225-0862 discovery.farms.prill@gmail.com program is unique in that it conducts research on working farms located throughout Wisconsin, seeking to identify the impacts of production agriculture on water quality. The program is managed by faculty from the University of Wisconsin, along with oversight from a steering committee of producers, citizens and agency personnel representing a wide variety of non-profit and government organizations. Funding has been provided by the State of Wisconsin, UWExtension, as well as a number of annual grants from producer groups and our federal partners.
An EEO/Affirmative Action employer, University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements. Request for reasonable accommodation for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Publications are available in alternative formats upon request. Please make such requests as early as possible by contacting the Discovery Farms office at 715-983-5668 so proper arrangements can be made.