The TreeThe UW Discover y Farms Newslet ter

Summer 2013

continued on page 3

continued on page 6

Cover Crops: options to Consider for Unplantable areas

by Todd Prill and John Frame

It will not be breaking news to anyone to hear that this past spring was cold and wet. In the month of April,

the Jersey Valley Watershed weather station received a total of 4.84 inches of precipitation and had an average temperature of 39.74 degrees. The weather station lo-cated in the Willow Watershed received a total of 3.48 inches of precipitation and had an average temperature of 36.59 degrees.

The trend of cold and wet did not stop at April. In May, Jersey Valley Watershed weather station received a total of 7.99 inches of precipitation and had an average tem-perature of 57.05. Willow Watershed weather station re-ceived 3.76 inches of precipitation and had an average temperature of 54.14 degrees.

So what has this spring done for us in Wisconsin and what will its affects be in the future? A positive effect of this spring is that drought conditions in Wisconsin have been diminished. Referencing the Palmer U.S. Drought

disCovery farms CondUCts feed storage leaChate stUdy

by Eric Cooley

As farm enterprises have grown and farming systems have changed, an increasing number of Wisconsin live-stock producers are using bunker silos, stacking pads, silo bags and commodity storage sheds more exten-sively to store feed. This shift in feed storage has pro-duced a move away from the typical upright silage stor-age systems (silos) to horizontal storage systems (bun-kers, piles or bags). These storage facilities can allow for rapid harvest, increased flexibility and improved perfor-mance of ensiled materials; however, there are concerns

I NSI D E

Cover Crops: options to Consider for Unplantable areas .. 1

discovery farms Conducts feed storage leachate study.... 1

director’s Column ............................................................... 2

minnesota hosting 2013 multi-state df tour ................. 5

succession planning ........................................................... 5

riechers beef project finalized ......................................... 7

new df intern....................................................................... 7

2The Tree-Summer 2013

direCtor’s ColUmn

Almost twelve years ago I wrote the first Discovery Farms director’s column for our first newsletter. Today I’m in the office in Pigeon Falls putting my thoughts together for my last director’s column. I retired from UW - Extension on July 3rd after more than 30 years, about 25 years more than I had planned. My career started as a dairy and livestock agent working on rations, facilities and farm economics (the early 80’s were challenging times); then a few years doing economics, dairy, and forage work. In Trempealeau County, the first few years were similar to Wood and Brown counties, but then I got really involved in soil and water conservation programs. Our first crop and soil fertility class was in 1992, long before anyone was talking about nutrient management planning or reporting. Over the past 21 years my program emphasis has been focused on agriculture’s impact on the environment, working with agriculture (farmers and consultants) to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint.

So, what changes have I seen and what have I learned about Wisconsin agriculture over the years? First, the vast majority of farmers are doing an excellent job of applying nutrients (organic and/or commercial) on their fields. If you take the time to talk to farmers and their advisors you will find that all of them base their application rates, timing and methods on information gathered from a variety of sources, as well as personal experience. Twenty years ago when we first started doing educational classes, it was common to find farmers not crediting manure or legumes. Today, it is extremely rare to

find farmers not taking proper credits for organic sources of nutrients and almost all farms base nutrient application rates on crop requirements. So, why do losses still occur? The greatest plans can be screwed up by weather, and while it is true that management practices have changed and improved; the weather is unpredictable and beyond control. Losses are part of natural systems, so eliminating losses is not possible. The best we can do is reduce them to acceptable levels.

Farming systems have also undergone dramatic changes. Wide variations in tillage systems, planting methods, rotational grazing, manure application methods, crop rotations and use of cover crops has increased the variability of farming systems throughout the state. The idea that any one system is the best or that farmers should all adopt similar practices is simply wrong. For two weeks this past June, I looked at and evaluated thousands of acres in a watershed project, and it is abundantly clear that while there are very different farming systems in this area, most of these systems are extremely protective of the environment. While small changes can be made on some fields, none of these farms require dramatic changes in management. The other lesson is that what works on one of these farms will not work on others, and in most cases, what could help one field is often not required on other fields in the area. That means recommendations for modern agriculture need to be site specific and developed through a close relationship with farmers as well as their crop advisors. Agriculture’s water quality challenges cannot be identified and will not be solved on a computer in an office, they have to be evaluated and addressed in the field.

My wife asked me last night, what is the one most important thing you have learned through your career with Discovery Farms? I said there were two things:

1. The vast majority of farmers have adopted and continue to modify farming practices that are protective of the environment; as long as these practices fit into their farming systems and provide adequate levels of profitability. Practices that don’t fit into a system or reduce profitability require some form of financial incentive and most of these practices are discontinued once the financial incentive is eliminated.

2. The solution to reducing nutrient and sediment losses from agriculture is to engage farmers and their advisors in the

3The Tree-Summer 2013

continued from discovery farms Conducts feed storage leachate study on page 1

about the potential for silage leachate to run off from the storage area and ultimately enter waters of the state.

Leachate from feed storage systems is most commonly a result of precipitation that flows through feed and/or spoil piles, but may also come from silage (either corn or hay) harvested at high moisture levels. A variety of collection and treatment systems have been installed on feed storage systems to address concerns of high chemical/biological oxygen demand, low pH (acidic), ni-trogen and phosphorus from leachate. Most leachate collection systems are designed to collect and transfer a portion of the initial leachate flow, termed “first flush,” to a manure storage or other collection system, then send the remainder of the lower concentration leachate flow to a vegetated treatment area (VTA).

To address the effectiveness of current systems and determine additional options for producers installing leachate collection systems, the UW – Discovery Farms Program implemented a study to assess the leachate at the collection area to determine the volume and quality of water being sent to both the manure storage and VTA (see figure on next page). Data collected will allow for evaluation of the loading of sampled constituents from storm and non-storm events and understanding of the effectiveness of individual system design and treatment.

On April 4, 2012, the UW – Discovery Farms Program es-tablished the Leachate Study Oversight Committee to ensure that the study is designed and conducted to best address the potential issues with feed storage

identification of the issues and solutions. The solutions will not come from government agencies or people who don’t make a living from production agriculture, because they have nothing invested in the solution.

These two points keep coming up in our on-farm research and educational programming. Many of the assumptions about losses coming from agriculture were incorrect because we have not verified the changes that have occurred over the past 5 - 15 years. We did not credit farmers for all the environmentally protective practices adopted on their operations. Even worse than not knowing what has happened on the land, we schedule meetings about how to reduce losses without adequate farmer/crop consultant representation in the room. I don’t blame anyone for not attending these meetings, but somehow production agriculture has to have a lead role in identifying what is necessary and what can be accomplished.

I have had the privilege to work on hundreds of farms in Wisconsin and to speak with thousands of farmers. I have seen dramatic changes in the use of nutrients (both organic and commercial), farming practices and a much improved understanding of high risk periods and practices. I have no desire to quit working, but it’s time to work on agricultural projects from a different perspective. I hope that in the future you will continue to see me working with farmers and their advisors to gain a better understanding of what is happening on the land. I plan to assist Amber and Eric in their transition to Co-Directors of the Discovery Farms Program and to dedicate more time in the field on their watershed projects. The creation and management of the Discovery Farms Program has been the highlight of my career and it has been an honor to work with and for Wisconsin Agriculture. I ask for your continued support and guidance to the Discovery Farms Program because it was created to provide unbiased data on the impacts of agriculture on water quality, and to seek solutions that are protective of water quality and farm profitability.

Special thanks for the support and guidance from the people in leadership positions within our commodity organizations and the staff at Discovery Farms. None of this was possible without you. Finally, to Susan, John and Carl - you are my foundation and my greatest success.

Thanks! Dennis

Covered silage pile with settling basin downslope.

4The Tree-Summer 2013

systems. The committee is made up of nine members consisting of producers, agency personnel, university personnel and private engineering consultants to gain input from multiple perspectives. This committee eval-uated the study design, helped in site identification and selection, and will be further utilized to assist with dis-semination of the results and review the final product prior to release. In addition, the Leachate Study Over-sight Committee will have an annual meeting to discuss the prior year’s results and evaluate the monitoring scheme for the study.

In late May through June 2012, farms were contacted and toured to determine producer interest in study and monitoring suitability for individual farms: 26 farms were contacted and 17 farms were toured. Information from the toured farms was presented to the Discovery Farms Steering Committee to determine suitability and ranking of farms for participation in the study. Farms were contacted in the order of ranking to discuss final details of the study and begin installation of

equipment. Monitoring equipment was installed on three farms beginning in July 2012, and sampling began in late 2012 and early 2013. Monitoring for this study is planned to July 1, 2015 and final reports on the study will be compiled and released in the winter of 2015/16.

Data from this study will be used to better understand how the concentrations of leachate constituents change during flow events throughout the year. This informa-tion will allow for increased flexibility of future leachate collection/treatment system designs. It is beneficial in some locations to send more of the “first flush” to ma-nure storage systems, therefore decreasing the required size of the VTA; conversely, other locations prefer to de-crease the amount of liquid being sent to storage sys-tems and have a larger VTA. In addition, this data will also be used to investigate new technologies to control leachate water based on water quality as compared to current “first flush” volume calculations to increase op-tions for future feed storage leachate systems. §

Bunker Silo or Silage Pad

Grass Filter Strip (VTA)

1) Collection system to manure storage: 1st sample point

2) Discharge to VTA: 2nd sample point

Bunker Silo Runoff: 1) First drains to tank, then flows to manure storage; 2) once tank fills again, overflow discharges to VAT

Dairy freestall barn with multi-cell bunker silo, sloped for runoff collection.

Settling basin and tank that pumps first flush leachate to manure storage.

5The Tree-Summer 2013

sUCCession planning

By Amber Radatz

Many of you have dealt with succession planning and transitioning farm duties and assets on to the next gener-ation. Discovery Farms has been working on its own tran-sition plan over the last year or so. As Dennis announced his plans for retirement, we all began working together to understand what we could do to keep the program going and thriving like it did under Dennis’ direction.

To Dennis’ credit, he has been thinking about this tran-sition for quite some time. He has worked to secure projects and funding that have enabled Discovery Farms to be on the cutting edge of many environmen-tal issues that are important and pertinent to Wisconsin agriculture.

So, what’s the plan? We will be going back to the Co-Di-rector structure, similar to when the program began

with Fred Madison and Dennis Frame 13 years ago. Eric Cooley and I will be taking on the roles of Co-Directors, and we’ve divided the administrative responsibilities of the program so that we can each focus on our strengths. Eric will take the lead on designing research studies, coordinating monitoring site installation, main-tenance and water sampling, providing technical ad-visement to agencies on standards, and managing Dis-covery Farms staff. I will focus on writing and reporting on grants, corresponding with funding partners, coordi-nating the watershed projects, and oversee the creation of outreach materials and activities. Of course, there are many other jobs that we will also be working on togeth-er, including working with our steering committee and the producer groups of Wisconsin to identify priorities, connecting with UW-Extension and other agencies to

minnesota hosting 2013 mUlti-state disCovery farms toUr

by Tim Radatz

The Minnesota Discovery Farms program will be hosting the annual multi-state tour this summer from August 13th to 15th. Representatives from Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Arkansas Discovery Farms programs will be participating in the event. The tour will showcase Minnesota agriculture and farmer lead water quality research and education.

Discovery Farms Minnesota is modeled after the Wisconsin Discovery Farms Program. The Minneso-ta Agriculture Water Resources Center, a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to assisting Minnesota farmers in addressing water quality concerns (mawrc.org), leads the Discovery Farms effort in Minnesota. The program partners with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and local conservation organizations to collect water quality data on farms across the state. The Universi-ty of Minnesota Extension Service leads the data collection effort at one Discovery Farm location.

Farmers are active participants and partners in the program. A Steering Committee, comprised of farmers and conservation professionals, provides input on research needs, identifies project possibili-ties, and selects projects and cooperators. Farm cooperators provide the critical link between the re-search and outreach program with the knowledge of their farming system and local landscape.

Currently, there are 10 Discovery Farm locations in Minnesota. The tour will stop at three Discovery Farm locations in Blue Earth, Kandiyohi, and Stearns Counties. The tour leaves the Minnesota Farm Bu-reau office in Eagan on August 13th at noon, overnights in Mankato on the 13th and St. Cloud on the 14th, and then returns back to the Minnesota Farm Bureau office on the 15th. For more information, detailed tour agenda, and registration instructions please visit discoveryfarmsmn.org. §

6The Tree-Summer 2013

expand the use of our information, and continue to present our information through educational trainings and other meetings to help farmers of the state im-prove their impact on water quality and enhance over-all farm productivity.

The work plan for the next several years is to continue to focus on our strengths as a program including providing unbiased research and resources to the agriculture com-munity that allow farmers to make the best management decisions for their operations and water quality. We will continue our work on the watershed projects, the silage leachate study, and will finalize graduation materials for the first generation of core farms.

Be on the lookout for some exciting and substantial changes to projects and personnel over the next year. We will be taking applications and adding a core farm study to our project list. You’ll see some personnel changes in the form of the addition of a Communications and Marketing Specialist and a faculty partner on the UW-Madison campus. We’re excited to hear what you think about all of these changes. Come and talk with us at events or give us a call or email. As we get settled, we intend to stick to our roots and continue to provide the best information we can to our farmers so that they can continue to protect our natural resources. §

continued from Cover Crops: options to Consider for Unplantable areas on page 1

Monitor, a comparison from the beginning of January 2013 to the middle of June 2013 shows that Wisconsin went from 88.50% of the state in abnormally dry to sever drought conditions to none of Wisconsin in any drought like conditions. With the excess of rain, crops have been planted late or producers have been forced to take prevented planting.

Late planting of corn will decrease the potential for corn to reach its full maturity forcing farmers to harvest a larger percentage of their corn crop as corn silage. This can cause erosion issues because a higher percentage of bare soil will be exposed to raindrops. To combat this increased risk for fall erosion after corn harvest, produc-ers have the opportunity to plant winter rye in late Sep-tember or early October as a cover crop.

If producers signed up for prevented planting, this year might be a good opportunity to try out cover crops. Cover crops that can be planted from now until July 15 for erosion control include Buckwheat, Millet, Oats or Sudan Grass. These crops tend to be faster to establish and cheaper than other cover crop options. If Oats are your cover crop of choice, they should be controlled be-fore going to seed to prevent volunteer Oats next year.

Producers looking to add nitrogen next year via cover crop should plant Berseem Clover, Crimson Clover, Red Clover, Cowpea or Sweet Clover. This will supply 60 to 120 lbs./acre of nitrogen along with erosion control. However, these options are slower to establish and seed cost is more expensive.

After mid July, producers have a different set of cover crop options. These include Winter Cereal Grains (Rye, Wheat, Triticale), Brassicas (Turnip, Radish), Legumes (Ber-seem, Crimson, Red Clover, Winter Peas and Hairy Vetch), or Oats. Regardless of when you decide to plant cover crops, seed availability will vary and a mix of legumes and non-legumes will provide the best cover crops.

Although this spring has been cold and wet, producers have the opportunity to make the most of it by planting a variety of cover crops to control erosion problems and possibly adding nitrogen for next year. §

The Discovery Farms staff thanks Dennis Frame for his vision and dedication with an afternoon of celebration.

7The Tree-Summer 2013

rieChers beef projeCt finalized

by Kevan Klingberg

higher produced the majority of non-frozen ground runoff during the study.

Potential for endocrine disruptor loss: The WI State Laboratory of Hygiene conducted a project to assess the effects of hormones in livestock manure. The re-search project found that a large majority of hormones are rapidly degraded in the environment and that pre-venting manure from entering waterways can prevent hormones from entering surface water.

Designing conservation systems for the 21st century: Through the years, equipment size has grown so that field passes do not match the size or spacing of conserva-tion practices like terraces and contour strips. Terraces were removed in one basin on the project farm while monitoring continued for a final year. Data from one year did not show a negative impact on sediment and nutri-ent loss. More data is needed to assess the difference be-tween surface water losses with and without terraces.

On-farm research for this project has been summarized through nine factsheets, available on the Discovery Farms website: http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org/CompletedProjects/RiechersBeef.aspx. §

new df intern

My name is Sam Hess. I have recently graduated from Whitehall High School and will be attending UW-River Falls this fall as a freshman where I will be studying Envi-ronmental Science and Con-servation. This summer I am interning at UW Discovery Farms where I work on site maintenance and collecting water samples at both the Willow and Jersey Valley wa-tershed sites. When I am not working, I enjoy spending my time fishing, hunting, or doing other outdoor recreation ac-tivities. §

The University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms Program conducted edge of field surface water monitoring on

the Riechers Beef farm located in Lafayette County, WI from 2003 thru 2010. This farm finishes beef steers and produces feed through a direct plant (no-till) corn and soybean cropping system. The farm represents medium sized beef feedlot operations that have the majority of their cropland devoted to row crop production.

Major lessons learned through this project include:

Impact of farming system on runoff: The direct plant cropping system enhanced the infiltration of precipita-tion. No-till crop management can lower both soil loss and surface water runoff volume. The greatest affect on nutrient loss in this farming system was manure man-agement decisions and applications during the late winter runoff period of February and March.

Impact of winter manure applications: The timing of manure applications is one of the most important day to day nutrient management decisions on livestock farms. Phosphorus losses were 2-5 times greater when manure was applied immediately before a winter runoff event. Applications made weeks or months prior to snowmelt had lower nutrient losses.

Soil moisture as a runoff risk tool: Soil moisture con-tent immediately before a storm event is a good predic-tor of whether the given storm will produce runoff. Storm events with initial soil moisture content of 35% or

The Mark and Jan Riechers family

Return Service Requested

University of Wisconsin

Cooperative Extension Trempealeau County

Discovery Farms

PO Box 429, 40195 Winsand Drive

Pigeon Falls, WI 54760-0429

PIGEON FALLS, WISCONSIN 54760

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 2

This newsletter can be found on the web at: www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org

Regarding the mailing list, call/e-mail 715-983-5668 or jgoplin@wisc.edu.

UW Discovery Farms is a producer-led research and outreach program based out of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The 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, UW-Extension, 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.

Co-DirectorsEric Cooley 608-235-5259 etcooley@wisc.edu Amber Radatz 608-317-0001 aradatz@wisc.eduOutreach SpecialistKevan Klingberg 715-983-2240 kevan.klingberg@ces.uwex.eduProgram AssistantJudy Goplin 715-983-5668 jgoplin@wisc.eduResearch SpecialistAaron Wunderlin 920-839-5431 aaron.wunderlin@ces.uwex.eduDry Run Watershed CoordinatorTodd Prill 715-225-0862 discovery.farms.prill@gmail.com