University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms Staff 2013 Wisconsin Corn / Soy Expo Wisconsin Dells, WI

Transcription

1 University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms Staff 2013 Wisconsin Corn / Soy Expo Wisconsin Dells, WI

2 Overview 1. UW-Discovery Farms, unique program and information, since 2001 Data from private working farms Represent situations, farming systems and people whose lives depend on profitable production. Producer led Steering Committee decides priorities, project locations, areas of focus in projects 2. So what? What do you know that can help me?

3 Location of Discovery Farms Projects 1 Beef 1 Swine odor 3 Poultry-stacking 2 dairy grazing 1 Dairy -grazing/organic 6 Dairy - confinement 2 Watersheds Watershed Watershed 3 Bunker silo leachate

4 Edge-of-Field, Tile, Stream Monitoring Runoff characteristics monitored Runoff water volume Sediment Nutrients Over 150 station-years of data on private Discovery Farms and the UW- Platteville Pioneer Farm Equipment Inside gaugehouse: Refrigerator, sampler, datalogger Connected to: Power (solar/hard line), Remote communication Use data to determine the when? and why? of runoff to help producers with their crop / field / manure management

5 Runoff Timing Average Runoff as Percentage of Total Annual Runoff Frequency October 3% 23% November <1% 15% December 1% 35% January 4% 50% February 16% 58% March 34% 100% April 4% 54% May 12% 38% June 19% 42% July 3% 42% August 3% 19% September <1% 19% Runoff on frozen ground is occurring earlier than you might think. 55% of annual runoff 35% of annual runoff Source: Precipitation-Runoff Relations and Water-Quality Characteristics at Edge-of-Field Stations, Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm, Wisconsin,

6 What if we get another drought year?

7 What if we get another drought year? Harvest water: Find a network of practices that works for you 6% of precipitation as runoff Majority of precipitation as non-frozen Majority of runoff as frozen Total precipitation and runoff through 7 years on a south west WI farm ( )

8 2.5% Runoff 97.5% Precipitation harvested

9 What if we get another drought year? Nitrogen conversion and loss in the fall If must apply N before soil temp is below 50 consider: Cover crops to trap N N inhibitor options Cracks in the soil Can be direct conduit to tile lines Use pre or concurrent tillage with nutrient application

10 What if we get above average precipitation?

11 What if we get above average rainfall? Soil moisture Large storm or several smaller storms in a row can saturate soil profile and increase losses Soil Moisture Category % of Non-Frozen Ground Runoff >35% 71% 25-35% 23% <25% 6% *Tile drainage can change the way these dynamics work *Surface runoff began when tiles flowed at capacity

12 Rain required to produce runoff 2.50 <25% (low ) % (med) > 35% (high) Rainfall, inches Frozen Applied Manure Equivalent 10,000 gallons = 0.37 acre inch 20,000 gallons = 0.74 acre inch 27,000 gallons = ~1 acre inch 0.00 <25% (low) 25-35% (med) > 35% (high) Frozen Soil Condition Focus on the minimum rainfall needed to produce runoff. When soil moisture is already high, precip to cause runoff is similar to frozen ground.

13 What about winter?

14 With deep snow cover, manure applications don t get to soil surface Store if possible What about winter? Fast melting and high runoff volume with dramatic temperature rise or rain Depends totally on weather conditions

15 What about winter? February and March are the key times We always get a runoff event in March Valentine s Day Rule

16 What if we get a big rain storm?

17 What if we get a big rain storm? What time of year? When soil is not protected by crop cover, loss can be significant Cover crops can provide protection and hold onto soil and nutrients during these times Waterways, Check dams, other

18 * * * * Assumptions: 15 ft. wide Crop rotation of Corn-Corn-Soybean 2012 UWEX Crop Budget: $450/acre return

19 When do we lose sediment? 17 storms exceeded one year return period (1-10 year, 1-25 year) = 46% of total sediment Not only big storms that move sediment-it is how saturated soil is before storm and how much soil cover is present

20 Total Phosphorus Yield, in pounds per acre % of Annual North South North Impact of storm timing-example 2 South 68% of Annual North South North South North South Single Storm Contribution Stormflow (less single storm) Baseflow North South North South WY02 WY03 WY04 WY05 WY06 WY07 WY08 02 Storm occurred on June 2 nd, 3.4 inches with erosivity index of Storm occurred on June 8 th, 3.1 inches with erosivity index of 76 Had storms in August of 07 with EI s of 48, 46 & 54 Time of year, crop canopy, initial soil moisture

21 Is that waterway wasted space? County of farm location # storms during low crop cover Feet in grass waterway Lafayette 5 4,030 (60,450) Kewaunee 8 2,980 (44,595) Buffalo 5 4,020 (60,300) Acres in example Acres in waterway $ $ $7.76 Profit ($/ac/yr) not captured Storms that cause runoff occurred during low crop cover period at least 50% of the years in our studies With frequency of these storms, cost to clean up after these storms may be higher than profit not captured

22 Parallel Water and Sediment Control Basin

23 What if we get a big rain storm? Do cover crops fit into your cropping system? Following Corn Silage Following Small Grains Winter rye Oats Radish Winter rye Oats Clovers Radish Vetch

24 What if we get a big rain storm? What cover crops will do: Protect the soil surface from raindrop impact, reduce erosion Some will trap nitrate to lower nitrate leaching loss Especially beneficial after early fall manure application and on tile drained lands Can remove significant amounts of P and K with removal for forage

25 What about commodity prices?

26 What about corn and bean prices? When prices are good Perception: conservation is abandoned Time to investigate new technologies Maintenance or evaluation of current practices- What is working? What isn t? When prices aren t so good Investigate increasing manure or legume crediting Harvest water

27 What do we know about this year already?

28 What do we know about this year already? Soil moisture reserves are low Strong possibility of N in soil profile that corn didn t use last year because of drought Several periods of snow melt, cold weather Frost in the soil is likely continuous and concrete

29 No. Is my system perfect? Every system has losses, every system has advantages The key is you need to evaluate and adopt potential changes based on your beliefs, values and personal knowledge. Most farmers are aware of water quality issues, but they believe their farming systems are protective of the environment.

30 Ongoing Projects of Interest Edge of field and stream monitoring in watersheds Jersey Valley Watershed, Cashton, WI Includes city and non-agricultural site Willow River Watershed, Baldwin, WI Includes cash grain site Monitor runoff water from bunker silos with leachate collection systems Data combined with B. Larson UW Bioengineering Continue building library of reports and data on program website: Conduct and participate in associated training

31 Questions? Kevan Klingberg: Eric Cooley: Amber Radatz: UW-Extension / Discovery Farms Program