Greetings, hopefully you can catch your breath as we work through corn silage chopping, hauling and packing. This year the temperature went from hot summer to cool fall in about six hours!
There has been a tremendous amount of conservation practices shared this year. Cover crops and reduced or no-till have become less of an exception and more the normal farming practices here on our peninsula. As always, PPF attempts to share information about these practices to encourage more farmers to adopt them as well as inform the interested public through field days and Conservation Conversations. These events have the benefit of inviting more people see up close and personal what a particular practice looks like. It also allows for a conversation as to what was done, why and how it was done, and what was learned, providing pros and cons. All our events continue to be very well attended.
The results of our efforts are showing up in many ways. Although our efforts are directed toward several different goals, we always have our eyes on protecting ground water quality as a particularly important one. To this end, we have helped support Kewaunee County Land and Water with their well-monitoring studies by providing financial support along with contributing well water samples to the various rounds of testing. This year, the July 2022 testing results were significantly improved over July of 2021 for both Coliform and E coli contamination. This is big news for the whole county and a testimonial to our combined efforts as a community. Partnertships and creativity are working to solve complex challenges.
The PPF board of directors is starting the planning process for this winter’s annual meeting. As always, we will be looking for a combination of interesting technical presentations as well as thought provoking out-of-the-box type presentations. Please let any PPF directors know of any speakers or topics that may be of special interest to you. I hope to see you there.
In the meantime, best wishes in getting crops in and nutrients out in a safe and efficient manner.
Good luck!
-Don