BMP CHALLENGE Experience: Cannon River Watershed Partnership Information provided by: Dave Legvold Executive Director Cannon River Watershed Partnership

Experiences Partnership Mission To protect and improve the surface and ground water resources as well as natural systems of the watershed through: *Education *Advocacy *Monitoring and scientific analysis *Conservation

Experiences Agriculture Management Current Three-legged Stool of Management: Incentives Farm program counter-incentives Education Private-public mix of messages Regulation Almost absent (exception – feedlots)

Agriculture Management Experiences Total Resource Management Connects producers with specific operations in their local area as experts. Centered on farm management systems Linked to federal, state and local funding and resources Focused on achieving non-point source load reduction through increased adoption of agriculture BMPs

Agriculture Management Experiences Crop Nutrient Management – Manure Application U of MN recommendations for N and P Regular soil testing Manure testing Manure injection & incorporation Adjust manure rates to P uptake rather than N need and apply additional N as needed

Agriculture Management Experiences Erosion Control Rotational average 30% surface crop residue “Studies show that targeted conservation practices on 7% to 10% of land in a watershed can reduce sediment delivery by up to 70%” - Tom Vilsack Use innovation to reduce tillage and retain residue

Experiences Agriculture Management Re-balancing the Three-legged Stool of Management: Incentives Connecting to farmers by starting with their farming system(s) Education Prime, package and publicize Regulation to Recognition Successful voluntary adoption is the better way

Experiences 2006 Experiences Education Brian Brandt Nutrient and Tillage Workshop July 12, 2006

Experiences 2006 Experiences Innovation

Experiences 2006 Experiences Adoption Row-incorporated low rate manure application at 1500 gallons/acre.

Experiences 2006 Experiences Results Tillage Cost Savings Calculation 1. Tillage cost per acre, Check Strip $ per acre 2. Tillage cost per acre, Reduced Tillage acres $ 5.00 per acre 3. Net tillage cost savings (item 1 minus item 2) $ 8.23 per acre Net Economic Return Calculation 4. Reduced Tillage BMP Strip yield per acre 83.2 bu/acre 5. Check Strip yield per acre bu/acre 6. Value of BMP Strip yield (Line 3 times $2.20) $ per acre 7. Value of Check Strip yield (Line 4 times $2.20) $ per acre 8. Value differential (Line 6 minus item 7) $ per acre 9. Net economic return (Line 3 plus item 8) $ per acre If Line 9 is greater than zero, no performance guarantee payment is needed. Go to farmer contribution, Line acres at $156.77/acre= $830.88

Try a better way…with support from the BMP CHALLENGE! Experiences 2006 Experiences