SARE and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute Team-Up to Showcase NRCS Conservation Security Program

Soil conservation has always been an important part of how farmers Charlie Hammer and Nancy Kavazanjian manage their land in southeastern Wisconsin. Practicing no-till since 1985, Hammer and Kavazanjian were able to enroll their land in the NRCS Conservation Security Program (CSP) as a Tier II farm in 2005.  In northwest Wisconsin, the Mikelson family farm qualified as a Tier III farm, thanks to their many conservation practices on their dairy operation.

Both farms were featured as part of a series of CSP farm field days, organized by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI) in collaboration with NRCS, the University of Wisconsin Extension and Land Conservation Departments, and supported by USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. The program was also supported by Diane Mayerfeld, SARE state coordinator from Wisconsin, who set up information booths and encouraged Extension staff to attend the CSP events.

The field days brought together farmers, state and federal agency staff, and other agriculture professionals to see how the CSP program is working for farmers in Wisconsin. On the first tour, over 60 people visited four CSP farms in Buffalo and Pepin counties in the lower Chippewa River watershed. At each tour stop the CSP farmers spoke of their conservation practices, which included grass waterways, diverse crop rotations, grazing, and nutrient and pest management practices to reduce inputs.

The first stop on the tour was Cloverleaf Dairy, which has been in Dave Mikelson’s family for three generations. Today, the Mikelsons milk 110 cows and have between 175 and 200 replacements on their 800 acre farm. To qualify as a Tier III farm, Dave, with his son, Eric, uses several conservation practices. They follow nutrient and pest management plans, and recently built a manure lagoon to manage the spreading of nutrients. They also have a corn, hay, and oats rotation, do contour strip cropping, soil test for nutrient applications, and have grass waterways and dams to manage run-off.

“I hope they [NRCS] keep on having grants or programs, so people can keep on taking care of their land,” said Mikelson. “Because, really, it isn’t our land – we’re just here to use it. We might as well take care of it for the next person.”

The tour also stopped at Weiss Family Farms where dairy farmer Dan Weiss said, “I hope CSP goes nationwide. It educated me on nutrient management. It’s a good program.”

On the second tour, Charlie Hammer and Nancy Kavazanjian hosted the field day at their Dodge County farm in the Crawfish River watershed. The turnout far exceeded expectations, with 110 people in attendance, including over 50 farmers. The day included talks by NRCS staff on how CSP works and demonstrations on building soil organic matter, use of cover crops, and no-till practices.

Hammer and Kavazanjian use cover crops such as alfalfa, red clover, and hairy vetch as part of their corn, soybean and wheat rotation. They also practice precision agriculture, including grid sampling and yield monitoring with GPS. This year they hope to be Tier III farmers by turning their attention to managing the woodpecker habitat on their farm.

“We’ve always been conservation minded because the soil is so important to us,” said Nancy. “We know that you can’t abuse the soils and get good yields.”

For more information on the CSP outreach and education work by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, please contact Jeanne Merrill at 608-256-1859.

About SARE
Since 1988, SARE has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide grants program.  The program, administered by  CSREES and USDA, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems and natural resources.

NRCS field office professionals frequently collaborate on SARE-funded projects and are valuable partners to the SARE program. NRCS staff serve on SARE’s national Operations Committee, on regional Administrative Councils, on State committees and are actively engaged as technical advisers and collaborators on SARE-funded research grants around the U.S.

 For more information, visit the SARE website or for more information about the regional SARE programs, click on the region area of the map below.

Your contact is Diana Friedman, SARE research associate, at 301-504-6422.