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New online resource highlights Wisconsin farmers leading on conservation
Producing milk, corn, soybeans, and the many other foods people depend on while protecting the environment is challenging. But Wisconsin farmers are used to problem-solving; they have been doing it for generations.
A new online resource (nature.org/WIFarmersLead) tells the stories of five Wisconsin farm families who have joined with other farmers in local, producer-led, nonprofit groups to accelerate their adoption of conservation practices in their watersheds by working together.
Wisconsin may be unique in setting up a Producer-led Watershed Protection Grant Program through the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection that gives farmers a way to form their own watershed-based organizations, apply for cost-share grants and work with other professionals to take some of the financial risks out of trying new ways to farm that benefit the environment and their operations.
“The producer-led groups have been a bright spot in conservation in Wisconsin. The Program has provided the framework for farmers to be leaders in watershed conservation and really supports farmers to learn from and innovate among other farmers in their group or other producer-led groups across the state,” says Dana Christel, DATCP Producer-led Watershed Protection Grant Program manager.
In this online resource, five farmers talk about the practices they are implementing, the benefits they are seeing and how their involvement in farmer-led groups increases their ability to innovate and track progress on their environmental goals while benefiting their farm businesses.
Bob Danes, New Holstein in Calumet County
Bob Danes and his family own and operate a 3,900-acre cash crop farm, grain cleaning business, and trucking enterprise near New Holstein. Danes is a member of the Calumet County Ag Stewardship Alliance.
The Danes family has about 2,000 acres of cover crops, which they began planting in 2012. Planting green—the practice of no-till planting conventional crops into living cover crops—is also now a common practice on the farm.
“With heavy rain, we were seeing a lot of soil washing away along with all the nutrients the plants need,” Danes says. “With these changes, we now see the soil staying in place.”
Steve Carpenter, Darlington in Lafayette County
Steve Carpenter, a third-generation dairy farmer near Darlington in Lafayette County, and his family milk 600 cows and farm 2,000 acres of corn, alfalfa, and soybeans. Steve helped form the Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance (LASA) and is the group’s vice-president.
One of the conservation practices Steve tries on the fields where he has soil compaction issues is vertical tillage. This type of tillage reduces disturbance to the soil by cutting into it vertically rather than pulling or dragging the blades through the soil.
“I learn something from other farmers at every LASA meeting and field day,” he says. “I see what people are trying, listen to how they’re doing it, and learn from their successes and their mistakes.”
Leslie Svacina, Deer Park in St. Croix County
Leslie Svacina and her family farm Cylon Rolling Acres, which covers 140 acres and is home to a herd of up to 200 meat goats and a small flock of sheep. Svacina is a member of the Western Wisconsin Conservation Council.
“I think no matter how you farm, what you farm, or where you’re at in your conservation practice journey, it’s important to always learn and improve upon what you’re doing,” she says. “It can be little steps over time that can build to make a big difference.”
Svacina utilizes rotational grazing with her livestock, moving the herd to new pasture paddocks every few days. This grazing method adds cover to the soil surface and organic matter as trampled plants break down. Goat manure and urine provide fertilizer for the soil, which then feeds the soil microbes.
The Guilette Family, Casco in Kewaunee County
Guilette Farms has been in the family for four generations. They grow corn, soybeans, and wheat on 300 acres. Nick Guilette is on the board of directors of Peninsula Pride Farms and an advisor with the Door-Kewaunee Watershed Demonstration Farm Network.
He says these groups are important because: “What we want to avoid is having a farmer try something that’s a good practice, fail miserably at it, and never want to try it again.”
The Guilettes are no-tilling and planting cover crops like radishes, barley, and crimson and red clover. They are also creating pollinator habitats on parts of their farm that were less productive for conventional crops. In addition to supporting bees and other pollinators, these habitats help to reduce wind erosion, stabilize soil, and improve water quality
Travis Luedke, Plymouth in Sheboygan County
Travis Luedke runs his family’s 650-acre farm with his parents, Warren and Linda, and girlfriend, Jen. They raise corn, beans and winter wheat and have been no-tilling for about 20 years. Luedke is a founding member and current treasurer of Sheboygan River Progressive Farmers (SRPF).
Three years ago, they began strip-tilling after hosting an SRPF field day on their farm.
“This is a process of tilling and fertilizing only where the seed is put in,” Luedtke says. “It keeps the seed and fertilizer exactly where it needs to be, and by doing this, we can grow a better crop using less fertilizer.”
“Field days are not the same as reading about something in a book. As you listen to others, your mind wanders to the possibility of trying some of these new things yourself and getting similar results.”
Farmers for Sustainable Food and The Nature Conservancy are collaborators with all five of the farmer-led groups highlighted in the online resource.
“Farmers have long been stewards of the environment, and the farmers highlighted in this series are just a small example of this,” said Lauren Brey, managing director of Farmers for Sustainable Food, a nonprofit organization of food system partners. “Every day, our team’s top priority is finding ways to best support farmers in their conservation goals and helping them succeed.”
“The work these farmers and their peers in farmer-led groups are doing to implement soil health practices and share what they are learning with others shows that agriculture can be part of the solution to some of our biggest challenges, from water quality to climate change,” said Steve Richter, agriculture strategies director for The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin. “We’re excited to support them in their efforts to protect our waters, capture carbon, and keep their farms profitable.”
About the Producer-led Watershed Protection Grants Program:
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP) provides funding to producer-led groups that focus on non-point source pollution abatement activities through the Producer-led Watershed Protection Grant Program. This program supports producer-led conservation solutions by encouraging innovation through partnerships, on-farm demonstrations, and flexible cost-share programs while emphasizing farmer-to-farmer learning and outreach to improve Wisconsin’s soil health and water quality. More information: https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ProducerLedProjects.aspx
About The Nature Conservancy:
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. In Wisconsin, we help farmers improve soil health and protect clean water while sustaining profitability. We also collaborate with communities, governments, business and other nonprofits to protect Wisconsin’s most outstanding natural areas, address climate change and its impacts, and help make cities more sustainable. To learn more, visit www.nature.org/wisconsin.
About Farmers for Sustainable Food:
Farmers for Sustainable Food is a collaborative, industry-supported effort to promote and support farmer-led solutions to today’s environmental challenges. The nonprofit organization empowers farmers to develop and implement practical, innovative solutions for environmental, economic and social good. More information: www.FarmersForSustainableFood.com
Lee Kinnard
- Background: what you do/how you got involved with sustainability?
I am a fifth generation Dairy and Crop farmer. My parents and grandparents stressed the importance of thinking generationally when making decisions. They stressed that every decision made must provide a benefit to our community, be highly protective of our natural resources, and provide an economic return. Though our parents never referred to their decision-making process as such, sustainability has been at the center of our family’s business model for generations.
2. Why be a part of Farmers for Sustainable Food?
Farmers for Sustainable Food is quite clearly the leader in the promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Practices. FSF has successfully created a platform that promotes collaboration amongst farmers, processors, retailers, regulators and environmental groups. This collaboration has empowered farmers to innovate, incorporate new technology, and adopt regenerative farming practices at a pace never before possible.
3. Why should others join Farmers for Sustainable Food?
The work performed by those who choose to belong to Farmers for Sustainable Food will define the future of sustainable agriculture. No other organization provides this opportunity.
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative adds Shawn Wesener as data collection specialist
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative today announced the hiring of Shawn Wesener as a data collection specialist to work on the cooperative’s sustainability programs.
Wesener has a professional background in agriculture and public planning. As a certified crop adviser, he most recently served as a precision agriculture specialist for Country Visions Cooperative, based in Brillion, Wis.
At Edge, Wesener will support members in their conservation efforts by working directly with farmers and crop advisers to capture the data needed to drive sustainability projects and support continuous improvement. His work will align with Farmers for Sustainable Food, a nonprofit organization of food system partners that Edge helped establish.
“Shawn brings a unique range of skills and experiences in customer data, agricultural software programs, compliance review and farmer engagement,” Tim Trotter, CEO of Edge and Farmers for Sustainable Food, said. “It is important that we help farmers measure the impact of their conservation practices and demonstrate tangible results throughout the food supply chain. Shawn will be integral to this.”
In other previous roles, Wesener was the planning division manager for Sheboygan County, Wis., where he also worked as a farmland preservation planner. He also was an assistant planner for Portage County, Wis.
“I am excited to be part of the sustainability initiatives Edge supports through Farmers for Sustainable Food,” Wesener said. “The members are clearly committed to field practices that protect soil and water quality while also remaining profitable. Data holds the key to connecting that work to customers who want to know that the food they buy is responsibly produced.”
Wesener grew up on a dairy farm and has degrees in policy and planning from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and in precision agriculture from Fox Valley Technical College.
The data collection specialist position is a new one for Edge, which supports a growing number of farmer-led watershed conservation groups that implement and promote practices to build soil health, protect water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Farmers for Sustainable Food releases first progress report
Farmers for Sustainable Food, a collaborative, industry-supported effort to promote and support farmer-led solutions to environmental challenges, released its first annual progress report today.
The nonprofit organization of food system partners grew to 40 members in 2021, up 14 from 2020. Through partnerships with six farmer-led conservation groups across Wisconsin, FSF supported 231 farmers who represent 288,925 acres and 243,720 head of livestock. Through an annual member conservation practice survey, FSF was able to document practices these farmers are implementing and analyze the potential impact on the environment.
Key results:
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 49,830 tons. This equals the emissions from 10,737 cars driven for a year.
- Reduced sediment from leaving farm fields by 106,846 tons. One dump truck can carry about 10 tons of soil.
- Reduced 330,471 pounds of phosphorus from leaving farm fields. One pound of this nutrient that reaches a waterbody can feed 500 pounds of algae.
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BreyIn the spring of 2021, FSF and three partners gained national recognition by receiving an Outstanding Supply Chain Collaboration Award from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy for a sustainability project they piloted in southwestern Wisconsin. The partners were Grande Cheese Company, The Nature Conservancy and Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance. FSF also added three sustainability projects with other supply chain partners and farmer groups.
“Our work is not slowing down. More partnerships, projects and farmer-led groups are in the works. Connecting our farmers, food processors, brands, retailers and customers is critical in agriculture’s sustainability journey,” Lauren Brey, FSF managing director, said. “Every day, our team’s top priority remains finding ways to best support farmers in their conservation goals and help them succeed.”
Greg Steele
- Background: what you do/how you got involved with sustainability?
My first involvement with sustainability was when I volunteered to conduct monitoring visits on land that was placed in conservation easements along the river by the Kinnikinic River Land Trust. Of course, most of the landowners are farmers, who put their farm and woodland into these easements. It was a nice opportunity for me to walk the fields and woods along the river and appreciate the practices that were being implemented to hold soil in place and maintain water quality.
2. Why did you want to be a part of FSF and serve on the board?
It is my belief that the dairy industry has a tremendous responsibility to the community to manage natural resources in a responsible way and carry out management practices that meet both economic needs and take care of the environment. By doing so this engages the support of neighboring farmers and members of the community and hopeful encourage more participation in watershed groups. I believe these groups will be critical to ensure a vibrant and sustainable livestock industry for generations to come
3. Why should others join FSF?
The benefit from the reduction in nutrient loss is a win for everyone. It is good for the planet, people and profits!