Ag/NPS

Farmers find success with variable rate P applications

“We have been able to sign up growers for our VRT program that wouldn’t consider it in the past. Some have even paid for additional acres out of their own pockets.” – ag retailer cost-share participant

Low crop prices have farmers focused on ways to minimize costs while optimizing inputs. For many, variable rate phosphorus application makes sense for optimizing this input, but the costs to get involved can prevent many from taking the leap. The Partnership for Ag Resource Management (PARM) is helping ag retailers and growers overcome this barrier through a new cost share pilot using Variable Rate Technology (VRT) in the Sandusky River Basin, Ohio with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Kewaunee-Door county farmers create watershed imitative

Thirty-five farmers in Northeastern Wisconsin have formed an environmental stewardship coalition.  Members of the new group operate farms ranging in size from 66 cows to 6,000 cows.  The goal of the organization, called Peninsula Pride Farms, is "to leverage the ingenuity of the agricultural community, university research and scientists to meet water quality challenges."

The Mighty Rock River and Friends

A great article about efforts in the Rock River basin.

UW Discovery Farms Farmer's Voice Newsletter

Learn about the latest activities and efforts from farmers participating in the UW Extension Discovery Farms program.

New Land and Water Resource Management Requirements

To receive annual DATCP grant funds, counties have historically been required to have a current work plan on file with the department.  The LWCB, at its February 2 meeting, agreed that efforts should be made to improve annual work planning conducted by counties and to evaluate the results of the new approach.  For more information, review this memo and visit DATCP's LWRM website.

Heart of the Farm

Jenny Vanderlin discusses Heart of the Farm, a University of Wisconsin-Extension program committed to addressing the needs of farm women by providing education on farm business topics, connecting them with agricultural resources and creating support networks.

Monitoring

The DNR Surface Water Monitoring Program strategy provides for three levels of monitoring in rivers and streams; Baseline, Prescribed, and Local Needs.  These, along with the full monitoring program are described in Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy:  2015-2020.  For this year, Koshkonong Creek will be the focus of a Targeted Watershed Assessment (TWA) under the Prescribed Needs strategy.

Koshkonong Creek

This summer we will be conducting our Target Watershed Assessment (TWA) on the Koshkonong Creek Watershed.  This will include 5 HUC12 in Dane and Jefferson Counties.  We will take a comprehensive look at the biological communtities.  Biological monitoring will include: Fish Index of Biotic Integrity sampling (FIBI), Macroinvertebrate sampling to include Hilsenhoff Biotic Integrity (HBI) and Macroinvertebrate Index of Biotic Integrity (MIBI), and Diatom Nutrient Index (DNI) sampling.

The number of surveys will include:  22 fish stations , 15 macroinvertebrate stations and 8 diatom stations.  Surveys will begin in May and will be completed by October.

Outreach

Water Pollutions and Solutions

A new documentary sponsored by WI Land and Water highlights all aspects of watershed and water quality restoration, including a highlight of the farmer-led initiative in the Red Cedar Watershed:

http://intotheoutdoors.org/segments/water-pollutions-solutions/

Water Thinkers Network

A community of people passionate about water education, outreach, and research in Wisconsin will be on hand for the launch of the new Wisconsin Water Thinkers Network this month.

Stormwater

New Storm Water Guidance Open for Public Comment

The proposed guidance addresses how to account for internally drained areas in an MS4 TMDL modeling analysis.

Access via: http://dnr.wi.gov/news/input/Guidance.html#open

WinSLAMM Course Opportunity

Learn how WinSLAMM software can help you calculate stormwater runoff volume, pollution loads, and assess a wide range of management measures. Modeling stormwater impacts in new or existing systems, this Windows-based program will help you choose the most effective control measures, and give you the data needed to select the most cost-effective stormwater control practices.

• Using WinSLAMM v.10.2: Meeting Urban Stormwater Management

Wastewater

Don't Flush Those Baby Wipes

Steve Anderson, a water resources analyst with Clean Water Services (Hillsboro, Ore.), wrote and recorded a lighthearted song called “Don’t Flush the Baby (Wipes!)” The song conveys the importance of not flushing baby wipes, cleaning pads, and paper towels.