Cover Crop Champions Program Report. For Report Period: August 2013-December Report Due: January 31, 2014

Transcription

1 Cover Crop Champions Program Report For Report Period: August 2013-December 2013 Report Due: January 31, 2014 A. Name and Contact Information of Individual Submitting Report: Jan Voit, District Administrator Heron Lake Watershed District PO Box 345 Heron Lake, MN B. Name of farmer and outreach champions/organizations included in the grant (only one report required per contract): Jerry and Nancy Ackermann Jerry and Terry Perkins C. List each project deliverable, as stated in your grant agreement, and describe the progress you have made towards meeting each of your project deliverables. 1. Farmer Champions Jerry and Nancy Ackermann a) 3 days of total time spent communicating with outreach champion and preparing presentations and education materials b) Promote cover crops at a minimum of one speaking engagement c) Promote cover crops at a minimum of two phone interviews with reporters or other media representatives d) Host one field day 2. Progress: Complete. a) Jerry and Nancy Ackermann spent hours communicating with Outreach and Farmer Champions and others to promote cover crops and assist with the field day. See Table 1 below. b) Jerry and Nancy Ackermann presented information regarding their experiences with cover crops to the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Supervisors on their county tour on September 16, He also presented information at the Cover Crop Champion Field Day on November 13, c) Jerry and Nancy Ackermann participated in several interviews regarding cover crops. Those included: i. Brian Nyborg and Chris Bauer, Jackson SWCD August 20, 2013 ii. Julie Buntjer, Worthington Daily Globe September 5, 2013 iii. Sonja Langseth, RadioWorks November 8, 2013 iv. Mike Jordan, Lakefield Standard - d) Jerry and Nancy Ackermann, together with Jerry and Terry Perkins and the Heron Lake Watershed District (HLWD), hosted the Cover Crop Champions Field Day on November 13, There were 45 people in attendance.

2 Table 1. Jerry and Nancy Ackermann Time Commitment Date Activity Hours 8/19/2013 Jerry spoke with Doug Lusk regarding cover crops 0.5 Met with Brian Nyborg and Chris Bauer - Jackson SWCD regarding Jackson County Conservationist of the year and 8/20/2013 cover crops - Jerry and Nancy 4 8/21/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - meeting /28/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - seeding /29/2013 Cover Crop Champion meeting - Jerry and Nancy 7 9/4/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - field day date 0.25 Seeded cover crops, interview with Julie Buntjer - Worthington 9/5/2013 Daily Globe - Jerry and Nancy 9 Met with City of Worthington officials regarding airport and 9/9/2013 seeding cover crops - Jerry and Nancy 2 9/16/2013 Tour stop for Jackson SWCD supervisors - Jerry and Nancy 1.5 Met with Liz Stahl, University of Minnesota Extension - possible 9/30/2013 cover crop grant application - Jerry and Nancy 3 10/9/2013 Jerry met with Hoddy Thompson regarding cover crops 1 10/21/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - Lakefield Standard interview /22/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - cover crop photos /24/2013 Interview with Mike Jordan, Lakefield Standard - Cover Crop Field Day /1/2013 Interview with Paula Mohr - The Farmer magazine - Jerry and Nancy 5 11/7/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - follow up and supplies /8/2013 Phone interview with Sonja Langseth, RadioWorks /11/2013 Prepared for field day - Jerry and Nancy 2 11/12/2013 Prepared for field day - Nancy /12/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - field day preparation /13/2013 Field day - Jerry and Nancy 14 11/19/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - final report 0.25 TOTAL Farmer Champions - Jerry and Terry Perkins a) 3 days of total time spent communicating with outreach champion and preparing presentations and education materials b) Promote cover crops at a minimum of one speaking engagement c) Promote cover crops at a minimum of two phone interviews with reporters or other media representatives d) Host one field day 4. Progress: Complete. a) Jerry and Terry Perkins spent 48.5 hours communicating with Outreach and Farmer Champions and others to promote cover crops and assist with the field day. See Table 2 below. b) Jerry Perkins presented information about his experiences with cover crops at the Cover Crop Champion Field Day on November 13, 2013.

3 c) Jerry and Nancy Ackermann participated in several interviews regarding cover crops. Those included: i. Julie Buntjer, Worthington Daily Globe September 5, 2013 ii. Sonja Langseth, RadioWorks November 12, 2013 iii. Mike Jordan, Lakefield Standard d) Jerry and Terry Perkins, together with Jerry and Nancy Ackermann and the HLWD, hosted the Cover Crop Champions Field Day on November 13, There were 88 people in attendance. Table 2. Jerry and Terry Perkins Time Commitment Date Activity Hours 8/21/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - meeting /27/2013 NWF Conference Call /27/2013 Researched and sent contact info for three area newspapers to Jan Voit 1 8/28/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - seeding /28/2013 Offered free use of JD 750 no-till drill for seeding of cover crop in demo plot for Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District 0.5 8/29/2013 Cover Crop Champion meeting - Jerry and Terry 7 9/4/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - field day date /30/2013 Phone conversation with Liz Stahl Univ of MN Extension concerning possible cover crop grant application with on-farm research by U of M /21/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - Lakefield Standard interview /22/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - cover crop photos /31/2013 Interview with Mike Jordan, Lakefield Standard - Cover Crop Field Day 1 11/7/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - follow up and supplies /8/2013 Cover crop discussions with the Peter Sexton, Director of the Beresford, SD Experiment Station and two grad students 2 11/8/2013 Filled out bio and agreed to participate in pending U of MN SARE funding cover crop research /12/2013 Prep and phone interview with Sonja Langseth - RadioWorks /12/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - field day preparation /13/2013 Field day - Jerry and Terry 15 11/19/2013 correspondence with Outreach and Farmer Champions - final report 0.25 Oct-Nov Discussed and promoted cover crops one on one with various persons 4 December Preparation for Soil Health Meeting 8 12/9/2013 Panel participant at Soil Health meeting in Sioux Falls, SD emphasizing no-till and cover crops 5 TOTAL Outreach Champions - Ross Behrends and Jan Voit, Heron Lake Watershed District a) 3 days of total time spent communicating with outreach champion and preparing presentations and education materials b) Promote cover crops at a minimum of one speaking engagement c) Promote cover crops at a minimum of two phone interviews with reporters or other media representatives d) Host one field day 6. Progress: Complete. a) Ross Behrends and Jan Voit spent hours communicating with Farmer Champions and others to promote cover crops and assist with the field day. See Table 3 below. b) Jan Voit provided background information regarding the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Grant and gave introductions at the Cover Crop Champions Field Day on November 13, 2013.

4 c) Jan Voit participated in the following interviews regarding cover crops: i. Julie Buntjer, Worthington Daily Globe September 10, 2013 ii. Lisa Hieronimus, RadioWorks October 9, 2013 iii. Mike Jordan, Lakefield Standard October 31, 2013 d) The HLWD, together with Jerry and Nancy Ackermann and Jerry and Terry Perkins, hosted the Cover Crop Champions Field Day on November 13, There were 45 people in attendance. Table 3. HLWD Staff Time Commitment Date Activity Hours J. Voit 8/19/2013 Call from Jerry Ackermann, met with Ackermanns 1 J. Voit 8/19/2013 signature page to Nobles SWCD office 1.25 J. Voit 8/20/2013 Call from Ross - signature page 0.25 J. Voit 8/21/2013 Cover Crop Champion grant agreement 0.25 J. Voit 8/21/2013 Julie Buntjer - aerial seeding 0.5 J. Voit 8/21/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - meeting 0.25 J. Voit 8/22/2013 contact partners - assistance from NRCS, SWCD 0.5 J. Voit 8/27/2013 NWF grant web page 0.75 J. Voit 8/27/2013 Read cover crop articles, conference call 1.25 J. Voit 8/27/2013 Subscribed to cover crop newsletter, charts to Ross, CC meeting agenda 1 J. Voit 8/28/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - seeding 0.25 J. Voit 8/29/2013 Cover Crop Champion meeting 3.5 R. Behrends 8/29/2013 Cover Crop Champion meeting 3.5 J. Voit 9/4/2013 Call from Jerry Ackermann - seeding 0.25 J. Voit 9/4/2013 CC Work Plan, s with Jill Sackett, to partners 0.5 J. Voit 9/4/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - field day date 0.25 J. Voit 9/5/2013 Message to Julie, Ross, & Nick - seeding 0.25 J. Voit 9/5/2013 Call from Ross, called Nick, to Julie 0.25 J. Voit 9/5/2013 Cover Crop Champion partner meeting summary 0.75 J. Voit 9/5/2013 to Lara Bryant - Ross's time 0.25 J. Voit 9/10/2013 Jerry Ackermann - seeding 0.5 J. Voit 9/10/2013 Interview with Julie Buntjer, Worthington Daily Globe - CC Champions grant 0.25 R. Behrends 9/10/2013 Review cover crop promotional material 1 J. Voit 9/11/2013 Press release, speakers, radio contacts, letter to media 3.5 J. Voit 9/11/2013 Letters to media 0.5 J. Voit 9/16/2013 cover crop champion news release 0.25 J. Voit 10/1/2013 Cover Crop article to listserv 0.25 J. Voit 10/9/2013 flyer, mailing to media, website 3.5 J. Voit 10/9/2013 Lisa Hieronimus, RadioWorks - cover crop field day advertising 0.5 J. Voit 10/21/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - Lakefield Standard interview 0.25 J. Voit 10/22/2013 Distributed news release, flyer, drafted handout 3 J. Voit 10/22/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - cover crop photos 0.25 J. Voit 10/31/2013 NWF Conference Call 1 J. Voit 10/31/2013 Interview with Mike Jordan, Lakefield Standard - cover crop article 1.25 J. Voit 11/4/2013 CC field day flyer on website 0.25 J. Voit 11/7/2013 Distributed flyer, read budget and work plan, to speakers - handouts, to partners - supplies 1 J. Voit 11/7/2013 Call from Jerry Ackermann - field day 0.25 J. Voit 11/7/2013 Correspondence with Stephanie McLain - field day 0.25 J. Voit 11/7/2013 Called Hy-Vee bakery, note to partners 0.25 J. Voit 11/7/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - follow up and supplies 0.25 J. Voit 11/12/2013 Call from NRCS - St. Paul - field day 0.25 J. Voit 11/12/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - field day preparation 0.25 R. Behrends 11/13/2013 Cover Crop field day preparations and field day 7.5 J. Voit 11/13/2013 Field day handouts, introduction 0.75 J. Voit 11/13/2013 Field day prep, field day, budget 6.5 J. Voit 11/18/2013 Cover Crop Field Day thank you letters 0.25 J. Voit 11/19/2013 thank you letters, summary article to papers 0.5 J. Voit 11/19/2013 Daily Globe and summary article on website 0.5 J. Voit 11/19/2013 Final Report 3.5 J. Voit 11/19/2013 Daily Globe and summary article to crop consultants 0.25 J. Voit 11/19/2013 correspondence with Farmer Champions - final report 0.25 J. Voit 11/20/2013 Cover Crop Champions Final Report 1 J. Voit 11/21/2013 Cover Crop Champions Final Report 0.25 J. Voit 11/26/2013 Cover Crop Champions Final Report 1 J. Voit 12/5/2013 Cover Crop Champions Final Report 1 J. Voit 12/9/2013 Cover Crop Champions Final Report 0.75 TOTAL 59.5

5 7. Grantees (collectively) a) Will educate at least 150 farmers and 10 crop advisors about the benefits of cover crops. b) A minimum of one person listed as a GRANTEE will attend a training session on use of media. c) Will communicate with other cover crop champions on a regular basis, through regularly scheduled phone calls and a listserv hosted by NWF. 8. Progress: Complete. a) Through newspaper articles, radio advertising and the field day, Farmer and Outreach Champions have educated at least 150 farmers and 10 crop advisors about cover crops. i. An article about cover crops ran in the Worthington Daily Globe s Today s Farm supplement on September 27, Circulation is approximately 8,000 daily copies. (See Attachment 1) ii. An article promoting cover crops ran in the Lakefield Standard and Jackson County Pilot on November 7, Circulation is approximately 1,050 copies reaching 2,415 readers and 1,800 weekly copies reaching 4,140 readers, respectively. (See Attachments 2 and 3) iii. A press release regarding the Cover Crop Field Day ran in the Cottonwood County Citizen on October 30, 2013 and in the Mt. Lake-Butterfield Observer Advocate on November 6, Circulation is about 2,500 weekly copies. (See Attachment 4) iv. A press release regarding the Cover Crop Field Day ran in the pork supplement of the Tri County News and Fulda Free Press on October 23, Circulation is 575 and 1,050 copies respectively. (See Attachment 4) v. A flyer regarding the Cover Crop Field Day was created and distributed to area news media, crop consultants, and agency personnel. (See Attachment 5) vi. Radio advertising was done on the RadioWorks stations. Fifty-two thirty second ads were run from November 1 through November 13, vii. Radio advertising was done on KJOE FM. Thirty second ads were run four times a day from November 8 through November 13, viii. The Cover Crop Field Day was held on November 13, There were 45 people in attendance. ix. An article about the Cover Crop Field Day was contained on the front page of the Worthington Daily Globe on November 14, Circulation is approximately 8,000 daily copies. (See Attachment 6) x. The Worthington Daily Globe article and a summary document about the Cover Crop Field Day were distributed to the Minnesota Independent Crop Consultants via on November 19, There are 27 members of this organization. (See Attachments 6 and 7) xi. The summary article regarding the Cover Crop Field day ran in the Tri County News on November 27, Circulation is 575 copies. (See Attachment 8) xii. The summary article by Julie Buntjer ran in The Green Sheet Farm Forum on December 6, This publication serves North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska and has more than 100,000 readers every week. (See Attachment 9) b) Jerry and Terry Perkins attended the Cover Crop Champions media training on July 29 and 30, 2013.

6 c) Outreach and Cover Crop Champions communicated on a regular basis as shown Tables 1, 2, and 3 above. D. Please estimate the number of new acres of cover crops that will be planted due to your efforts. (Optional. If you feel you cannot estimate the number of acres, this is not necessary. If you are certain that a number of new farmers will plant a certain number of acres, please share that information.) Farmer and Outreach Champions have reached over 150 farmers and 10 crops advisors about the importance of cover crops. At present, Champions do not have any direct knowledge about farmers using cover crops as a result of the efforts of this grant. The HLWD will be working with the Ackermanns, Perkins, and two other local farmers for the next three years through an Environmental Protection Agency grant. Through this grant effort, each of the four landowners will receive incentives for installing 50 acres of cover crops on an annual basis. E. List any attachments you would like to include, and please attach them separately or as one document: 1. Attachment 1 Today s Farm article 2. Attachment 2 Lakefield Standard article 3. Attachment 3 Jackson County Pilot article 4. Attachment 4 Press release 5. Attachment 5 Cover Crop flyer 6. Attachment 6 Worthington Daily Globe article 7. Attachment 7 Cover Crop Field Day summary article 8. Attachment 8 Tri County News article 9. Attachment 9 The Green Sheet Farm Forum article F. What has been your greatest accomplishment as part of the champions program? According to the Farmer Champions and the Outreach Champions, the greatest accomplishment has been hosting a successful Cover Crop Field Day. While at an alumni event at South Dakota State University, the Perkins spoke with extension personnel and with the director of the experiment station in Beresford about work they are doing with cover crops. As a result of that discussion, Jerry Perkins was invited to be part of a panel on no-till, cover crops, and soil health to be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on December 9, G. What has been your greatest struggle or challenge? 1. Lack of sufficient research to guide us in practicing and promoting cover crops 2. Convincing farmers that they can still do conventional tillage with cover crops.

7 Expenditures for farmer champions Project Expenditures Time/Deliverables Budgeted Amount Compensation to farmer for 3 days (24 total hours over $600 contributed time (Ackermanns) grant year) of total time spent for communications with outreach champion and preparing presentations and educational materials 2 phone interviews $100 1 speaking engagement $100 1 hosted field day (half day) $500 Travel to 1 speaking $35 Travel expenses engagement Other expenses Supplies for field day $100 Subtotal $1,435 Compensation to farmer for contributed time (Perkins) 3 days (24 total hours over $600 grant year) of total time spent for communications with outreach champion and preparing presentations and educational materials 2 phone interviews $100 1 speaking engagement $100 1 hosted field day (half day) $500 Travel to 1 speaking $35 engagement Travel expenses Subtotal $1,335 Total $2,770

8 Expenditures for outreach partner Project Expenditures Time/Deliverables Budgeted Amount Compensation to outreach partner for contributed time 6 days (48 total hours over grant year) of total time spent for communications with advisees/farmer champions and preparing presentations and educational materials $1,200 2 phone interviews $100 1 speaking engagement $100 1 hosted field day (half day) $500 Travel expenses Travel to 1 speaking engagement $20 Other expenses Supplies for field day $206 Printing materials, etc. $500 Radio advertising $1,544 Travel for UM Extension speaker $50 Expenses for Extended Ag speaker $200 Total $4,420 Overall Total $7,190