On October 11, 2018, Green Valley Dairy hosted a soil health field day for farmers in the area. It was extremely windy but a beautiful fall day, none the less. A group of over 20 people braved the elements to attend this event.
Green Valley Dairy has worked to be a leader in sustainable farming. Their farm houses three manure digestors that power the farm as well as the surrounding community. They have also implemented cover crops on many of their fields as well as relying heavily on GPS technologies, allowing them to apply manure and seed more conservatively.
Discovery Farms of Wisconsin, NRCS, and NPM helped with organizing and presenting at the event.
John Jacobs and the farm’s agronomist Jeff started the event off by discussing what Green Valley is hoping to accomplish and why. John was very honest with the farmers in attendance about costs, successes, and failures. He talked about how we should all be working together to solve common problems faced by today’s farmer.
After that, we moved to the soil pit where Jamie took us deep into the soil to explain how cover crops and their root structure are beneficial for alleviating soil compaction as well as making it easier for crops, like corn, to get their roots down further and faster. Aaron then talked about drainage tile and their benefits. Barry gave a rain demonstration, showing how implementing cover crops helps with infiltration. We also learned about the type of equipment and technologies Green Valley is using to complete their work.
At this point, the wind was brutal, and the group started to dissipate but a lot of farmers stuck around to ask questions and check out the farm equipment. There are hopes that these types of events will become more common throughout Shawano County as the Upper Fox – Wolf River TMDL project is implemented.
