ALBANY — Over 90 farmers, landowners and interested parties attended the annual meeting on Feb. 9 of the Farmers of the Sugar River at the Albany Lions Club.
There were a variety of speakers to educate the audience. Lisie Kitchel from the DNR shared the history and life of mussels in the Sugar River. In the late 1800’s, pearls were found and sold from the mussels (or clams) that were in the river. Thousands of people came to Brodhead and Albany searching the Sugar River hoping to find their fortune. Typically only one in 10,000 clams produce a high quality pearl, so one could understand how easily the resource was devastated by the chance to make a fortune in the Pearl Rush.
Kitchel also showed pictures of mussels and how they can create elaborate decoys to lure in host species of fish to spit eggs at them to be trapped in their gills. Specific fish are needed to complete each mussel’s life cycle. Mussels are very critical to filtering contaminants from water.
Chelsea Zegler from the UWEX Water Quality Program gave an update on the status of a statewide project of soil sampling to look for phosphorus stratification and if it is more prevalent in certain systems. The concern is that higher levels of phosphorus are in the top inches of the soil profile and are reduced deeper into the soil profile. It is natural and there isn’t any evidence that it has impacted crop production.
An update of the Farmers of the Sugar River explained that $25,927.01 in grant funds were spent in 2023. Of that money, 65% went directly to 21 watershed farmers that planted cover crops, no tilled or planted green into cover crops. The rest was used to do sampling and put on events. The group has secured a grant from Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) for $26,142 to support incentive payments and activities in 2024.
The keynote speaker, Blake Vince, from Ontario, Canada, did not disappoint with his quick wit and storytelling abilities. He has traveled to numerous countries and knows several languages under the Nuffield Scholarship. He has been able to meet some of the world’s greatest farmers that are using management techniques that kept their farms resilient to climate change and still profitable. A quote he shared to help motivate him on his journey comes from Albert Einstein: “Those that have the privilege to know have the duty to act.”
He also shared information about his farm and answered audience questions.
Three local farmers formed a panel to discuss their use of cover crops on their farms. Jake Kaderly has a grain operation and uses wheat primarily as a cover crop. Jeremy Luckey has a dairy farm operation and likes to graze youngstock and steers on the cereal rye mixes as much as possible in the spring and fall. Robert Zurfluh has a mixed operation of heifers and grain and likes to use the cover crops to help with erosion control and potential biomass growth that would help as fertilizer for the next crop.
The last speaker of the day was Chris Bandura, a Conservation Cropping Specialist with UWEX. He explained the variety of sampling farmers could do to their soils and plants to help guide their management decisions. Most of the sampling has a specific time frame to do the analysis in order to get the best results.
The annual meeting has been well attended by farmers that look forward to learning new information and networking with others that are trying conservation practices on their farms.
The Albany Lions Club has hosted the annual event and provided meals for the attendees. The Farmers of the Sugar River has a website and Facebook page for others that would like to learn more about the group.
