Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: clovers, grass (misc. annual), grass (misc. perennial), hay, radish (oilseed, daikon, forage)
- Additional Plants: native plants
- Animals: bovine
- Animal Products: meat
Practices
- Animal Production: feed/forage, grazing management, grazing - rotational, rangeland/pasture management
- Crop Production: cover crops, pollinator habitat
- Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance
- Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, marketing management, new enterprise development
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, drift/runoff buffers, habitat enhancement, riparian buffers, soil stabilization, wildlife
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, integrated crop and livestock systems
- Soil Management: green manures, organic matter, soil analysis, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: urban/rural integration
Abstract:
Final Project Summary
The Kickapoo River Watershed (KRW) region in SW Wisconsin is experiencing significant loss of livestock integration and thus grass cover. From 1997-2012, the counties in the KRW lost around 18% of their pastureland and a staggering amount of dairy farms, burdening the economic vibrancy and ecological resiliency of this community. Decreased grass cover is associated with increased nutrient loss to waterways, reduced biodiversity, and poor flood control (Atwell et al., 2010). Almost 45% of the KRW’s subwatersheds are in the top 20% of Wisconsin HUC12 watersheds for water quality sensitivity to agricultural BMPs (WBI, 2005).
Valley Stewardship Network (VSN) is a KRW non-profit with 23-years experience in water quality research along with 7-years experience in watershed council development and working lands conservation. VSN partners with farmers to measure impacts of BMP’s; supports watershed councils; and with this project as a first step, is working toward the coordination of an on-farm stewardship research group.
To increase grass cover for improved water quality, flood control and ecological resiliency, this on-farm research/education project focused on benefits of reintegrating forages and native grasses on mid-sized diversified crop and livestock farms. From 2020-2023, four components were explored and research and demonstration conclusions and farmer adoption actions are listed with each.
Component 1: Demonstrate cover cropping and native prairie strips for soil quality, increasing water infiltration and grazing. 1-acre native prairie STRIP was planted on marginal ground in 2020 and mowed several times and 7-acres of cover crops were planted and grazed in 2021. Water infiltration test was 2.5x higher in grassed waterway than adjacent soybeans.This component was limited due to covid-related challenges.
Component 2: Demonstrate cover cropping seeding techniques, equipment, management, and grazing. Project cooperators mounted VSN air seeder on rotary hoe to be available for cover crop inter-seeding into V5 or earlier corn. Cover crops planted for grazing and field day held in 2020. In 2021, 20-acres of red clover drone-seeded and two field days held. In 2022, red clover was inter-seeded on 5.5 acres. A key take away from this project is the need to fine tune the chemical and fertilizer systems to better support the use of creative cover crop usage in our specific geographic and temperate area. On-farm experiments can provide valuable information to improve our farming practices whether it’s to improve our environmental footprint, or enhance profitability. We need to be manageable in size, but relatable in practice and practicality of real time and localized farming practices. As a result of the demonstrations and field days, more than 50 farmers and 10 agricultural professionals increased their knowledge of cover cropping benefits in our region.
Component 3: Research and demonstrate verification standards, with bird surveys, for bird-friendly grazing and hay production, including haying management and nest refuge paddock guidelines for rotational grazing systems. Verification standards and economic impact were researched, established and tested for bird-friendly grazing and hay production. Bird survey point counts at five locations (two in rotational grazing, one in grazing refuge, one in late-cut hay, and one in conventional hay) were completed weekly for 8-weeks in Summer 2020 and 2021. Results showed successful grassland bird breeding in the grazing refuge and late-cut hay with minimal economic cost to farmer. Covering those costs with value-added, bird-friendly beef and hay is possible. Market research and outreach is on-going and included a November 2020 Bird Friendly meal collaboration with a local caterer and community outreach. A website was also developed: https://birdfriendlyfarming.org/ After outreach and a field day, four additional producers are beginning to adopt these practices.
Component 4: Increase prairie filter strip planting and research and demonstrate the infiltration, soil quality and biodiversity benefits of adapting the ISU prairie STRIPS adjacent to row crop fields in SW Wisconsin.
Seeding 5 acres, along with maintenance, and seed harvest were implemented on the demonstration and neighboring farm, along with water infiltration, soil quality, and pollinator data collection. The data does demonstrate that the STRIPs are increasing their ability to infiltrate water, and that it is significantly better than in the adjacent corn field. This is supported by the impacts observed in the field. The original driver for these STRIPs were to reduce erosion in the field bottom caused by rapid rain runoff, and this is erosion is no longer happening with mature STRIPS in place. Pollinator habitat also increased in the STRIPS. Field days and tours on the demonstration farm along with 41 outreach visits were completed. This project allowed us to develop customized seed mixes and increase the number of acres we have planted with STRIPS from 15 in 2019 to 54 at the end of 2022, as well as increase number of sub-watersheds where we have STRIPS planted from 6 to 10.
Project objectives:
Overall: Create an on-going structure for on-farm stewardship research with motivated farmer leaders in priority sub-watersheds.
Component 1: Demonstrate cover cropping and native prairie strips for soil quality, increasing water infiltration and grazing.
Component 2: Demonstrate cover cropping seeding techniques, equipment, management, and grazing.
Component 3: Test and establish verification standards and economic impact for bird-friendly grazing and hay production, including haying management and nest refuge paddock guidelines for rotational grazing systems.
Component 4: Increase prairie strip plantings and demonstrate the infiltration, soil quality and biodiversity benefits of prairie filter strips adjacent to row crop fields.