Participation Expectation Statement

Discovery Farm Program . . .
What Producers Should Expect As Participants?

By Dennis Frame and Fred Madison

Introduction:

The Wisconsin Agriculture Stewardship Initiative is an effort among producers, university researchers, agricultural organizations and government agencies to develop an approach to production agriculture that results in environmentally compatible and economically sustainable farms. The Discovery Farm Program links the research components (both component and systems research) and commercial operations. The role of a discovery farm is to determine how to implement management recommendations and to determine how these recommendations impact the operation in terms of environmental quality, labor requirements, changes in management practices and the impact or these recommendations on farm profitability.

What is required to participate as a Discovery Farm?

1. Must operate a functioning agricultural enterprise that is representative of the industry.
   
2. Must have or be willing to develop a soil conservation plan that reduces soil loss to tolerable level (T). The farm does not have to currently be farming within tolerable levels, but they must be willing to change management practices to get to tolerable levels during the study.
   
3. Must have or be willing to develop a nutrient management plan that at the minimum provides nutrients at the nitrogen needs of the crop. A second nutrient management plan will be developed for the operation that is based on phosphorus management. A comparison of the differences in crop production, management practices, equipment needs, labor requirements and financial impacts of following a phosphorus based nutrient management plan will be evaluated.
   
4. Must be willing to share financial information so that the cost of adopting changes in management practices can be identified. Discovery farms need to provide information on the current costs of storing and handling manure, level of nutrient crediting currently being taken, hauling distances and labor and management requirements. This will provide the baseline information necessary to determine the cost of proposed environmental regulations.
   
5. Must be willing to adopt changes in farming practices and to keep tract of how these changes affect their labor requirement, equipment needs, increases or reductions in purchased nutrients, affects on yield and profitability.
   
6. Willingness to participate in field days or meetings to discuss their experiences with other farmers.
   
7. It is anticipated that farmers selected as Discovery Farms will be in the program for 3 – 5 years. The collection of base farm data will take a few months and then the identification and implementation of practices will take another period of time. Monitoring outcomes and costs will be done for the remainder of the program. Practices that are cost-shared may need to be maintained for a period of time greater than the program (7 – 10 years).

What will participants receive?

1. An honorarium of up to $4995 for their time and assistance with this project.
   
2. Assistance developing and implementing their soil conservation plan to tolerable levels.
   
3. Assistance developing and implementing their nutrient management plan.
   
4. Technical and possibly financial assistance with changes in facilities or management practices that will improve their environmental management.
   
5. Some farms will have monitoring equipment placed in order to determine the level of nutrients or sediment reaching water resources.
   
6. Technical and possibly financial assistance with the implementation of best management practices.
   
7. Phosphorus and nitrogen balance sheets for the entire operation.
   
8. Some level of confidentially in terms of financial information.
   
9. Protection from the regulatory community and environmental groups for the changes that should be implemented based on their current farming practices.