Friends of the Minnesota Valley sponsored a panel discussion at Farmfest Aug. 7 on the topic, "Enhancing ag production and water quality with managed drainage systems." Scott Sparlin moderated the discussion with panelists Charlie Schaefer, president of Agri-Drain; Mark Dittrich, Dept. of Agriculture water quality specialist; and Brian Hicks, Redwood County farmer. They described the technology and management practices of conservation drainage that can help reduce the hydrologic surge after heavy rainfall, lower water levels to allow field work, and preserve some water for crop use. Schaefer described the return on investment in managed drainage with increased yields over time. He says there are about 150 million acres of tile-drained cropland in the Midwest. The Brian Hicks farm is the site of drainage water management research being conducted by the U of M Southwest Research and Outreach Center at Lamberton.
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A demonstration at Farmfest Aug. 7 helped to explain more details about the workings of the new Agricultural Water Quality Certification program. Following a brief overview by Matt Wohlman, Dept. of Agriculture assistant commissioner, Josh Stamper scrolled through a program designed to allow landowners to fill in an assortment of values arriving at a score between 1 and 10. Measures are divided into field sensitivity and nutrient management categories. The computer-based tool is based on one developed by the NRCS in Oregon, Stamper says, and is customized for Minnesota using the ag BMP handbook, and other variables more aligned with weather, geography, and land use. Trained certifiers, such as staff from local SWCD offices, will confirm results for granting certification. Certification lasts for ten years, during which a producer will not be subject to new water quality regulations. The program will be tested in four watersheds around the state: Elm Creek, Middle Sauk, Whiskey Creek, and Whitewater River.
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More than 100 people from a variety of sectors attended the Wetlands and Drainage Seminar July 30 at Jackpot Junction east of Redwood Falls, sponsored by the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center. The main focus was on conservation or managed drainage to mitigate the adverse impacts of cropland drainage on water quality. In his opening remarks, moderator Brad Carlson, U of M Extension, noted the importance of increasing water storage on land to address the challenges of reducing nitrogen transport by 45 percent as identified in the MPCA's "Nitrogen in Minnesota Surface Waters" report. Al Kean, Board of Water and Soil Resources engineer, described 'Multi-purpose" drainage for multiple benefits' (72 min. video). Other speakers included: Anna Bramblett, NRCS, 'Incorporating conservation in ag drainage projects' (24 min. video); Les Lemm, BWSR, 'ag wetland mitigation banking' (48 min. video); Doug Albin, 'A farmer perspective' (30 min. video); David Mulla, U of M, 'Drainage design and other factors influencing the discharge' (55 min. video); and Kurt Deter, 'A legal perspective' (63 min. video). Videos were produced by Jon Carlson and John Hickman, H2O Videos.
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More watershed organizations are using
the "systematic conservation analysis and planning" approach
that Paul Radomski, DNR-Brainerd, presented at the fall 2012 Watershed Network
meeting. Paul and Kris Carlson have created a questionnaire for use in
setting weights within the systematic conservation planning
"Zonation" model. The Chippewa and Hawk Creek watershed projects have
conducted the surveys in the process of measuring how we value land use and
conservation needs. "In addition to the Hawk Creek and Chippewa, at the
moment we are working with the Yellow Medicine and Mississippi River-St. Cloud.
We'll be adding others this fall and winter," Paul says. The survey
has five broad-scale components: Biology, hydrology, water quality,
geomorphology, and connectivity. The Hawk Creek survey was customized to
increase the focus on agriculture.
About 20 people attending the Aug. 2 Hawk
Creek monthly meeting took the survey, and the responses will be used to help
shape the project's Watershed Restoration and Protection strategy. “To manage
for healthy watersheds, we need to set priorities for clean water that
integrate our other conservation priorities, which may include protection of
rare species, prairie restoration, and groundwater recharge or wellhead
protection,” Paul says. "Our problems are large and there will never be
enough resources to attempt to solve our clean water needs separate from our
other conservation needs; that is, we need to get multiple benefits from each
conservation activity. Value models help guide us do that." For more
information, contact Paul at paul.radomski@state.mn.us,
or 218-833-8643.
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Middle Fork Crow open house at new building
Board members and staff of the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District welcomed visitors to their new office building during an open house Aug. 13. The new construction 2,600-square-foot building south of Green Lake in Kandiyohi County is a great improvement over the cramped space of the former building in downtown Spicer. It provides sufficient office space, meeting room, work rooms, and garage. Since it was organized in 2005, the district has worked on many projects and programs, including agricultural BMPs, lakeshore management, aquatic management, invasive species, and education. Staff members hosting the open house included: Margaret Johnson, administrator; Vanessa Glieden-Henjum, watershed technician; Mike Behan, hydrologic technician; Bob Hodapp, president; and Gordy Behm, treasurer.
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LeSueur River Watershed Network meeting Aug. 27 to discuss organization
The Le Sueur River Watershed Network
will meet 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 at the Amboy Cottage
Cafe to discuss how to organize going forward. What kind of formal
platform will be considered in small and large
group discussions. Those wishing eat should arrive early, 5 p.m. or so (Dutch
Treat). All will receive a complimentary
piece of blackberry pie; please RSVP by
e-mailing Patrick Moore at riverartisan@gmail.com. - Kimberly Musser, Water Resources Center, kimberly.musser@mnsu.edu; Patrick J. Moore, www.riverartisan.com.
Yellow Medicine plans combined annual
meeting, civic engagement event
The Yellow
Medicine River Watershed District board of managers and staff have scheduled a
civic engagement events in collaboration with the annual advisory committee
hearing. The combined hearing and event are scheduled for 3 p.m., Aug. 22 at the Taunton Senior Center in Taunton. The civic engagement
objective is part of the Watershed Restoration and Protection project through
MPCA. It will be facilitated by Toby Spanier and Barb Radtke, UM Extension
staff. They will be assisting in the design and creation of an agenda and plan
for the civic engagement event. For
more information visit http://www.ymrwd.org/index.htm
Agriculture water quality project demo in Elm Creek watershed Aug. 22
Researchers from the University of Minnesota have put together a number of water quality options that farmers can place on their land to help with issues in Elm Creek. They are working with local farmer Darwin Roberts, the Martin SWCD, the NRCS, and the MDA to construct a few of these options for demonstration and research purposes. The event will be Thursday,
Aug. 22, 10 a.m.-noon at the Darwin and Sandy Roberts farm, 1838 260th Ave., Granada. Elm Creek is located in the Blue Earth River Watershed in south
central Minnesota. The MPCA has placed Elm Creek on its impaired water List due
to excess nutrients, excess soil, and high fecal coliform counts. Currently a constructed wetland with tiling routed through it before
reaching Elm Creek; two woodchip bioreactors; and a streambank stabilization
project are being studied. For more information on this event contact Jill Sackett at (507)
238-5449.
New Ulm Riverblast Aug. 30-31
Celebrate life on the river at the big Riverblast in New Ulm Aug. 30-31. There will be music, food, horse-drawn trolley rides, kids' activities, camping, and water quality education at Riverside Park along the Minnesota River. Admission is free, except for camping. More info at Riverblast online, or 507-354-3749.
Soil health field day Aug. 19
A soil health field day will be 1-5 p.m. Aug. 19
at the Jerry Morical farm, 9020 County Road 56 near Garfield will look at cover crop
integration into corn and learn about the basics of interseeding into standing
row crops. The Moricals will discuss optimal varieties and planting
basics as well as soil and yield benefits of integrating cover crops into
corn. Sharon Weyers from the USDA Ag Research Service Lab in Morris and
Jim Paulson, U of Mn Extension, advisers to the Chippewa River Watershed Cover
Crop Farmer Network. Please call Robin Moore,
320-269-2105 or e-mail rmoore@landstewardshipproject.org
for more information or to RSVP.
CROW a co-sponsor of 'pasture walks' at two Wright County farms
The Crow Organization of Water is among sponsors of tow 'pasture walk' events at area dairy farms: 1-3:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Adam and Sarah Goelz farm, 8408 Co. Rd. 7 NW near Maple Lake; and 6-8:30 p.m. at the Living Song Farm, 76 The pasture walks will view the grazing operation and discuss a variety of grazing topics including: dairy grazing management, perennial forages, fencing and watering systems, organic certification, grazing economics, rainfall simulator demonstrations, and soil health. For more information, or to RSVP, contact the NRCS office in Buffalo, 763-682-1933 x 3.
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR)
will hold a competitive grant application round this fall using funds
appropriated from the Clean Water Land and Legacy amendment during the 2013
legislative session. The Board will consider authorizing the grant program at
its Aug. 29 meeting. If authorized, the grant application period will run from
Sept. 3 through Oct. 4 with funds awarded at the Board’s January meeting.
Training materials on the
application process and details of the request for proposals are being
developed. Web-based trainings are planned for Aug. 21 and 22. Online registration for the training is
now open.
Three funding categories from
previous years will be requesting grant applications:
- Clean
Water Assistance;
- Accelerated
Implementation; and
- Community
Partners Conservation Program.
BWSR is also working
to incorporate the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s BMP Loan program and
the Minnesota Department of Health’s Well Sealing program into the Clean Water
Competitive Grants Program.
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A statewide tour of Discovery Farms projects in Minnesota Aug. 13-14 included a stop at the Gorans Brothers Farms south of Willmar. The state's largest turkey producers also raise corn and soybeans on about 4,000 acres. The project is designed to assess the nutrient and sediment loss from a corn-corn-soybean rotation where nitrogen and phosphorus are supplied from either turkey manure or commercial fertilizer. A control (no nutrients applied) is also included in the study. A woodchip bioreactor and wetland for treating tile drainage water adjacent to Lake Wakanda are also being evaluated as part of this project. A University of Minnesota research team led by Dr. John Moncrief of the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate launched the experimental procedure and data collection at this site. Now in its fifth year, the Gorans Farm project became the first to join the Minnesota Discovery Farm program. The project is now being organized and guided by the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center.
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A U.S. EPA webinar Aug. 20 will address "How to track a HAB: New technologies and methods for identifying and monitoring harmful algal blooms." Dr. Don Anderson from Woods Hole and Dr.
Steve Morton from NOAA will continue the series with a discussion of their work
in identifying algae and monitoring blooms. They will address both innovative
techniques and equipment used by their institutions, as well as the role the
public can play in collecting and sharing data. Stay tuned for the final webinar in this series on HABs to
be held in September, covering the connection to nutrient pollution and EPA’s
role in mitigation and regulation. To register for this Watershed
Academy Webcast, please visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.
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Chart: The 7,000 streams that become the Mississippi River Slate, 7/18/13 From Shore to Shore U of M Extension Water Resources News, Summer 2013 EPA software helps reduce water pollution News release, 7/24/13 Law change removes incentive to place land in easement Star Tribune, 8/4/13 Mississippi first of state's five largest river to be monitored by MPCA News release, 8/12/13 MPCA seeks comments on water quality improvement report for Minnehaha
Creek and Lake Hiawatha News release, 8/13/13 New farmer-led initiative shows water quality commitment The Farmer, 8/13/13
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Aug.
13-15: Discovery Farms tour, Minnesota Agricultural Water Resources Center. Aug. 22: Yellow Medicine River Watershed District, 3 p.m., Taunton, MN Senior Center. Aug. 26: Minnesota River Blueway open house, 4:30-7:30 p.m., community center, Sisseton, SD. Aug. 27: LeSueur River Watershed Network, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Cottage Cafe, Amboy. Aug. 30-31: Riverblast, Riverside Park, New Ulm. Sept. 12: Clean Water Summit, U of M Arboretum, Chanhassen. Oct. 28-30: BWSR Academy, Cragun's, Brainerd.
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Watershed Network News welcomes
news from partners about funding opportunities, project updates and events.
Email your news to forrest.peterson@state.mn.us. Please
note that the MPCA has switched to a new service, called GovDelivery. To ensure
delivery of these messages, please add mpca@public.govdelivery.com to
your address book or safe sender list. Please forward this to any other
interested parties. Past issues are located on the Watershed Network publications webpage.
Forrest Peterson
Information
Officer
MPCA-Willmar office
320-441-6972
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