Manitowoc County Office Complex

March 5, 2013

Snow date is March 26th

Manitowoc County Office Complex

4319 Expo Drive, Manitowoc, WI

Sponsored by the UW-Discovery Farms Program, Manitowoc County UW-Extension and

Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department

AGENDA

9:15 Registration

9:45Welcome – Scott Gunderson

9:50 Just How Important is Agriculture to Manitowoc County? – Scott Gunderson, Manitowoc County UW-Extension Dairy Agent

10:00Working Together to Protect and Improve Our Natural Resources to Enhance the Quality of Life for All – Jerry Halverson, Department Director, Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department

10:15Results from the Manitowoc County Discovery Farms Project and Practical Solutions to Protect Ground and Surface Water – Dennis Frame, Eric Cooley, and Aaron Wunderlin, UW - Discovery Farms
12:00Question and Answer Session

12:15 Recognition of Financial Donors and Host Farms – Scott Gunderson

12:30 Lunch

Next page please

Manitowoc County UW-Discovery Farms Update

Financial support for this seminar is provided through a water quality grant obtained by the Manitowoc County UW-Extension Office and the Discovery Farms Program.

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March 5, 2013UW-Discovery Farms Update Registration Form

Name:______

Organization or Business______

Phone:______

Address:______City:______Zip:______

Email: ______

Registration fee: $5.00 per person$10.00 per person registration fee if received after February 22

Make check payable to: Manitowoc County Treasurer

Registration deadline:February 22, 2013

Mail to: Manitowoc County UW-Extension Office
Attn: Scott Gunderson
P.O. Box 935
Manitowoc, WI 54221-0935

Note: 2.5 CCA credits in Soil & Water Management have been approvedfor this session.

The snow date for this session is Tuesday, March 26th. Call the Manitowoc County UW-Extension Office at 920-683-4175, or listen to WCUB and WOMT radio stations in the event of inclement weather.

Results from the Manitowoc County Discovery Farms Project and Practical Solutions to Protect Ground and Surface Water – Dennis Frame, Eric Cooley, and Aaron Wunderlin, UW - Discovery Farms

10:15 - 10:45 Dennis Frame - Challenges facing modern agricultural production

According to Howard G Buffett, "agriculture is one of the only businesses in the world where people who have no experience, think they understand the challenges and have solutions". Today's farms are facing challenges that were unconceivable even ten years ago, and most of these challenges are very complex. This session will discuss some of the environmental challenges that the Discovery Farms Program has evaluated including the timing of manure applications, recommended methods of applications, manure handling options and dealing with manure in a sustainable manner.

10:45 - 11:15 Eric Cooley - Major lessons learned from Manitowoc Discovery Farms Project

The Discovery Farms Program collected hydrologic and water quality data on two farms in Manitowoc County from 2004 to 2011. Data collected from both farms showed the impact of tile drainage and the importance of agricultural management in these landscapes. The effectiveness of grassed waterways, timing of surface water runoff and tile flow, correlation between tillage and sediment and nutrient loss, and stratification of phosphorus in no-till systems were all essential information gained from data collected on these two farms.

At Soaring Eagle Dairy, data was collected at a 262-acre watershed from 2004 to 2006. On Saxon Homestead Farm, an upstream/downstream design to determine the contributions from the farmstead was conducted between 2004 to 2007 and included 3 surface water monitoring sites and 1 tile site. A second phase of monitoring was implemented between 2007 and 2011 to gain a better understanding of initial data collected at Saxon Homestead Farm. The 3 surface water monitoring sites and 1 tile site evaluated infield sediment and nutrient movement in three different grazing paddock types: overwintered or set-stock paddocks, paddocks that have high usage in spring and fall, and paddocks that are primarily used during summer months when forage is sufficient for grazing.

11:15 - 11:30 Aaron Wunderlin - Challenges with high and low moisture content soils

Data collected on five farms participating in the Discovery Farms Program indicated a strong correlation between soil moisture and high risk periods for either surface runoff or increased macropore flow to tile. This data has been evaluated and is currently being used to predict high risk soil condition periods where producers need to either modify their application methods or avoid manure applications until the risk is acceptable. This session will discuss soil moisture levels and help producers understand how to use this information to reduce the risk of manure loss.

11:30 - 12:00 Eric Cooley - Practical Solutions to Protect Ground and Surface Water

Twelve years of Discovery Farms research has given producers valuable information on both the positive and negative impacts of modern farming systems on water quality. This session will highlight some of the applicable management practices for northeast Wisconsin for both the frozen ground period and non-frozen ground period to reduces the loss of sediment and nutrients from agricultural landscapes.