Aug. 11 - 11 a.m.
Building soil health after winter wheat with cover crops
Field day topics: Nick Arneson presents on residual herbicides Kevin Shelley presents on nutrient management & species selection Jamie Patton presents on soil pit Land Conservation will showcase new grass waterway Field equipment demonstrations
Lush Farms is a premiere producer of 100% organic worm castings which is a fancy way of saying they raise worms and sell their poop. They love their worms and keep them very well fed and comfy in a 72-degree renovated dairy barn 365 days a year.
Come tour the farm with other HSHW members and stay for a barbeque after the tour.
It’s a busy season for our group with working in the fields, hosting events, attending field days and several research projects going on.
We have changed our cover crop incentive program (CCIP) to attract new applicants that have not applied for it in the past. A new program has been added, Pay for Performance Phosphorus Reduction. This is for farmers that have participated and can do any conservation practice that improves soil health as well as get compensated. HSHW recognizes the importance of protecting soil and promoting soil health.
We are already organizing a number of field days this summer that are open to anyone interested in learning more. We also look forward to the Pontoon rides this summer.
Hope to see and meet Dodge County people this summer at our events. You can also connect with us at the Dodge County Fair in August, hope you stop in our display.
Upcoming Dodge County Farmers’ events:
Thur. July 21 – 6 pm Topic: Worm Farm Tour at Lush Farms (@4LushFarms) Address: N1475 County Rd M Join us for barbeque after the tour please by RSVP by July 14.
Lush Farms is a premiere producer of 100% organic worm castings which is a fancy way of saying we raise worms and sell their poop. We love our worms and keep them very well fed and comfy in a 72-degree renovated dairy barn 365 days a year.
Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil and Water (HSHW) sponsored a field event on Monday, June 13 at Chris and Brenda Conley’s farm, High-Gem Holsteins & Normandes. More than 30 attendees walked through the fields and had an open conversation of how planting went for 2022.
The Conleys sold their tillage equipment and switched over to no-tillage and planting green five years ago. In addition to their crop acres, cattle graze on 23 acres of permanent pasture throughout the year. This spring, the cattle grazed the rye cover crop, providing three additional weeks of feed.
When Chris was making the transition to no tillage, he modified his original corn planter. Upgrades included the addition of closing wheels and row cleaners.
Greg Olson, Field Projects Director of Sand County Foundation, also presented on equipment for watching water movement through the soil. The equipment is ‘Moisture Manger coupled with their Farm Command display system’ owned and operated by Farmers Edge. There are 30 sites across the state including 15 paired sites. This equipment tracks water movement through the soil, measuring moisture and temperature at different depths from 4 to 40 inches. Past management plays a big factor in this project as it takes time to rebuild soil aggregate. Data is gathered during runoff time in March, May and June. The soil is tested in fall and spring to calibrate the equipment. The equipment at Conley’s farm is measuring more moisture below 16 inches compared to the top 16 inches.
Tony Peirick, Dodge County Farmers HSHW president, gave an update on 2022 cost-share programs open to membership and upcoming field days.
The event ended with a wagon ride checking the fields as the sun set in the rolling hills.
