Field Notes

Before dairy, wheat was king in Wisconsin. Between 1840 and 1880, the state was largest wheat producer in United States, providing a full sixth of the nation's supply. Today, wheat is 5% of total grain crop (corn, soy, wheat) acres in the state. While there are benefits to having wheat in the rotation and a healthy local market for straw, a higher potential for dockages due to quality standards than corn or soy can be a deterrent for farmers. We talk with Charlie Hammer a farmer near Beaver Dam and independent crop consultant Bill Stangel of Soil Solutions Consulting about how they manage their significant wheat acreage in Dodge County to keep DON levels low and test weight high to meet grade and push yields. Photo taken by Richard Hurd and under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Treated seed is the default for planted soybean (60-80%) and especially corn (close to 100%) acres across the US. While there are certainly advantages to some seed treatments, especially fungicidal treatments for early planted soybeans, others like insecticidal seed treatments can have a negative effect on the beneficial insects--aka good bugs--that prey on major pests in agricultural fields. Some farmers in a bid to save some money and help out the beneficials have gone back to planting naked seed. To break it all down with chat with Dane Elmquist, a conservation cropping specialist with UW-Madison Extension and big fan of arthropods, and Tom Ripp, a no-till and cover cropping grain farmer just outside of Black Earth, who plants naked soybeans.

Transitioning a farm with the bumps and successes along the way. Darren Eichelkraut farms on a 50 cow organic dairy with his family, including his dad, Junior Eichelkraut, right next to Paoli, Wisconsin. Darren and Junior tell us the story about how Junior transitioned the farm to organic, allowing Darren to come back to and eventually take over the farm.

We talk quite a bit about on farm research results on Field Notes, so we thought it was high time to do an episode detailing the ins and outs of doing research on farms in Wisconsin. We dive into the details of asking the right question, trial design and logistics, and analysis with Ben Turzinski, a third-generation grain and vegetable farmer in Almond, WI in the Central Sand, and Monica Schauer, Research Director for Wisconsin's Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Projects program.

Excess water, drought, and water quality are frequent topics in Wisconsin’s agricultural community. We sit down with Mallika Nocco, assistant professor and extension specialist in agrohydrology from UW-Madison to discuss water conservation: What is it, why does it matter for Wisconsin farmers, and what are practical ways we can implement it on the landscape? Listen in now to hear all about it.Photo: University of Wisconsin Discovery FarmsFollow Up ResourcesUW-Madison Extension Ag Water Quality: https://agwater.extension.wisc.edu/UW-Madison Extension Crop Irrigation:https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/cropirrigation/Find Your Local NRCS Service Center:https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/wisconsin

Much time has been spent on the environmental benefits of conservation agriculture. But, do practices like reduced tillage and cover crops pencil out for farmers, and how do we figure that out? In the second episode of this two-fer on the economics of conservation, we talk with Jake Kaderly, who works as a crop consultant under the name Kaderly Ag and farms 330 acres in Green County, for the farmer's take on how he pencils out conservation practices. Jake's farm was profiled in an American Farmland Trust Soil Health Case Study that runs some of these numbers and is referred to in the episode. You can find the report here.

Much time has been spent on the environmental benefits of conservation agriculture. But, do practices like reduced tillage and cover crops pencil out for farmers, and how do we figure that out? In the first episode of this two-fer on the economics of conservation, we talk with Jeff Hadachek, Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor of Ag Economics at UW-Madison, to get the economist's take on why economics is a useful tool when talking about conservation practices and adoption.

From severe drought to flooded fields, Wisconsin’s forage producers are turning to forage species that can provide adaptability and flexibility in the midst of abnormal conditions. We jump in with Yoana Newman, UW-River Falls professor and Extension forage specialist, and Matt Oehmican, from Short Lane Ag Supply, to talk the details of warm season annual forages, from the decision-making process for growing these species to the unique technical agronomy management warm season annuals need to grow in Wisconsin. Are warm season annual forages a fit for your farm’s forage inventory?

Like gas and groceries, the cost of trucking and raising dairy heifers out West has gone up. Does this present Wisconsin farmers with an opportunity to lure these animals back to the state with low-input approaches and similar performance standards with well-managed grazing? We sit down with Jason Cavadini, UW-Madison Extension Grazing Outreach Specialist, and Mike Redetzke, a farmer custom-raising dairy heifers near Colby to discuss the nuts and bolts of getting confinement dairy operations in Wisconsin to put their heifers out on grass.