Purpose
Northeastern Wisconsin's Door-Kewaunee Watershed is now home to a network of farms that will demonstrate the best conservation practices to protect the Great Lakes. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service are tackling this effort in cooperation with Peninsula Pride Farms, a farmer-led organization. Groundwater and surface water quality are top priorities for the farmers of the Door-Kewaunee Watershed Demonstration Farm Network, who contend with shallow, fractured bedrock that can provide a direct path for contaminants.
The network will test how well specific conservation practice systems reduce erosion and sedimentation, control phosphorus runoff, increase organic matter, and improve soil health in these conditions. This initiative will involve many partnerships to provide educational opportunities for the public, farmers, land managers, agribusiness, natural resource agencies, and research entities.
Goals
- Test the effectiveness of current and innovative conservation systems for controlling runoff pollution
- Establish a mechanism to transfer technology and provide information on effective conservation systems to farmers, land management agencies, agribusiness and general public
- Create opportunities for environmental research agencies and agribusiness to test research, provide technical assistance, and show conservation practices and technologies on the demonstration farm sites
- Host field days, farm tours, workshops, and provide additional outreach to share information and lessons learned to other natural resource managers, researchers, and stakeholders throughout the Great Lakes basin
Demo Farms
The four farms participating in the network are:
- Augustian Farms LLC, operated by Aaron, Todd and Ginanne Augustian
- Brey Cycle Farm LLC, operated by Tony and Moriah Brey and family, and Jacob and Lauren Brey
- Deer Run Dairy LLC, operated by Duane and Derek Ducat and Dale Bogart
- Kinnard Farms, operated by Lee Kinnard and family
Each of these farms will play a significant role in testing, demonstrating, and sharing information about leading-edge practices and technologies applied on their farms including cover crops, low disturbance manure injection and reduced tillage as well as other innovative practices that help increase organic matter, improve soil health and reduce soil erosion. To learn more about the farms: Demo Farm Bios
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