Wisconsin Land + Water 2017 Conservation Farm Steward Award Nomination Information Nominee: Nominator: Dan & Kristie Shelliam Family 2235 East Fairplay Street shelliam4@gmail.com PO Box 308 Hazel Green, WI 53811 (563) 451-2052 Lafayette County Land Conservation Committee 1900 Ervin Johnson Drive Darlington, WI 53530 (608) 776-3836 1) Give a brief biographical sketch of nominee(s). Include their conservation accomplishments, community involvement, commitment to conservation and other relevant information. The Dan & Kristie Shelliam farm is located a half mile east of Hazel Green in Southwest Wisconsin. The farm is only a three minute drive from what is known as the 4 th Principal Meridian. The starting point of which all surveyed land in Wisconsin is based off of. The rolling hills of this non glaciated portion of Wisconsin (Piece of Heaven) are home to many wonders such as this artesian spring. (see photo 1) Photo 1: Artesian Spring buffered with CREP
Dan & Kristie began farming by renting some acreage from Dan s Father in 2000. In 2005, he started experimenting with this new way of planting crops called No-Till. He quickly realized he saved money and time by making fewer passes across the field. His yields were comparable to conventional means but realized an increase in yields the 4 th & 5 th year of no-till. He continued to evaluate his time, yield, & production inputs. In 2011, Dan went 100% No-till without looking back. From 2010-12, the Shelliams purchased a 50 acre parcel & a 70 acre parcel of which 28 acres was enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The 28 acres CP21 was all planted to trees (Nut bearing trees). Dan has also began renting additional ground. In 2011-12, Seven (7) grassed waterways (4400 ) were installed. In 2014, Dan started a prescribed grazing program on 150 acres of pasture & began using cover crops on 200+ acres cropland. Dan heard about this seeding of cover crops prior to harvesting the current crop and so he thought he would give it a try. 200+ acres of cover crops were aerial applied. Also in 2014, Dan attended Snap+ classes to learn and write his own Nutrient Management Plan (NMP). In 2014-15, Four (4) rock ford stream crossings along with 1251 Lineal feet of streambank riprap was installed on Scrabble Creek which flows into the Fever River just ½ mile North of the Illinois state line. (See photo 2) Photo 2: Newly constructed Rock Ford Stream Crossing Dan also constructed a shallow water scrape area which he has named his Reptilian Cricket Frog Retreat Area. Dan currently operates nearly 500 acres. For 2017, Dan plans to install 2 more rock ford stream crossings and additional cover crops. Dan has served 16 years as a volunteer firefighter and 15 years as a volunteer Rescue Squad driver. He enjoys stock car racing & camping with his wife Kristie and their two kids Casey & Alyssa.
2) Describe the nominee s projects and approaches to land and resource management. Include the impact on conservation and/or management of natural resources. When Dan began his farming career in 2000 he looked at each of his potential resources which included Cropland, Pastureland, Unusable Land and Farmstead Area. His goal was to improve each of the areas to their maximum potential. Cropland: Dan began experimenting with No-till in 2005. And by 2011, Dan was 100% committed to doing No-till. He has seen a yield boost on most areas of the farm. In a few isolated cropland areas an Iron and Zinc toxicity exists due to the heavy mining Influence from the 1920 s -1960 s. Dan stated, my next big challenge is to reclaim these Iron and Zinc toxicity areas. Dan evaluated his cropland fields and realized a majority of the soil loss is occurring along the field edges or sometimes called end rows. Dan eliminated most all end rows with Multi-mix crops and alfalfa. In 2014, he began hearing about the benefits of cover crops and thought this might be a good way to: increase residue on the soil surface which reduced sheet & rill erosion, decrease weed competition, reduce fertilizer costs, & increase organic matter which improves water retention. When you add all that up it should improve yield potential and soil health and provide a food source for wildlife during the winter. So his first year of applying cover crops turned out pretty well. Dan realized that the earlier the cover crop was applied the better his cover crop will be. To accomplish this he knew he would have to apply the seed prior to harvesting the current crop. Dan hired a local crop duster to aerial apply a radish/winter rye cover crop seed on 200+ acres. He experimented on both corn and bean ground. Dan wondered if there was a way to reduce the cost of aerial application so he started thinking again outside of the box. What if he uses a corn detasseler to cut off the tops of the corn stalks? This would increase the light and provide residue cover for the cover crop. Dan also attached a hydraulic driven air flow seeding system from Gandy Manufacturing. (see photo #3) Photo 3: corn detasseler with hydraulic driven air flow seeding system from Gandy Manufacturing Result.he eliminated expensive airplane fuel and the cover crops grew quite well.
This machine applies the cover crop seed within the crop row prior to the detasseler removing the top of the corn plant. (See Photo 4) Photo 4: Residue between the corn rows after detasseling machine cut the tops of the plant off. The 2016 average crop yield for No-till corn on corn using cover crops and bedding pack manure was 225 bu/ac. Dan loves to discuss his cover crop successes with local neighbors, and friends willing to listen. (see photo 5) Photo 5: Radish / Rye Cover Crop Mix in corn residue Oct. 22, 2015 To help with pollination, Dan s friend Brett Patterson placed 1 of his honey bee hives on Dan s farm.
Pasture land: When Dan started farming he knew the pastures were a bit over-grazed and lacked the plant growing potential so in 2014 he started a prescribed grazing program on 150 acres. Dan rotates animals between pastures during the spring and summer months and grazes his fall cover crops to allow the pastures to regenerate. Farmstead: The so called cattle lot/ calving area of the farmstead was a bare lot with little to no vegetation, muddy, and abundant cattle manure present. However, every time it rained the manure present on the lot was reduced due to washing away during the storm event. Dan estimated he was losing about half of the manure deposited due to run off events. This was unacceptable. Dan wanted to improve this area so he first installed a hoop house more or less to reclaim the heavily disturbed, muddy calving area. (See photo 6) Photo 6: Hoop house construction to reclaim muddy sloppy cattle lot. He now controls the run off and has additional bedding pack manure to apply to the crop ground as valuable fertilizer. This manure is dryer and more compost like and his window of application is much longer. Less water means less trips to the field which saves money. The pen pack can be taken out of building to fields when they are ready. 3) List any other specific factors why the nominee should be given this award. Include any other activities, capabilities, innovative techniques or outreach efforts where they have demonstrated leadership. Dan s enthusiasm toward cover crops is infectious. In his first year of applying cover crops he hired a crop duster to aerial apply the seed. Although this method worked and produced a good cover crop the cost of aerial application was still a concern to Dan s bottom line. Is there a better way? He asked. Dan s ability to think outside the box has gotten him to use a corn detasseling machine to remove the upper portion of the corn stalk prior to harvesting as grain. This increases light to the base of the corn stalk,
adding additional mulch between the rows, and allows the cover crop seed to be applied several weeks prior to harvest. (See photo 7) Photo 7: cover crop stand 1 week after planting cover crop. This additional time increases the cover crop growing season producing a much fuller plant canopy between the corn rows. (See Photo 8) Photo 8: cover crop stand 6 weeks after planting cover crop. The detasseling machine has been retro fitted to include a hydraulic driven air flow seeding system from Gandy Manufacturing. This machine applies the cover crop seed within the crop row prior to the detasseler removing the top of the corn plant. Result.he eliminated expensive airplane fuel and the cover crops grew quite well. In the late fall, all pen pack is applied to fields with tall cover crops. The nutrients from this bedding pack begin to feed the cover crop plants. The crop residue along with the thick cover crop growth helps protect the bedding pack virtually eliminating all potential runoff.