MONROE - This year's recipients of the Wildlife Habitat Development award are Dave and Donna Brown.
They own 390 acres in Jefferson township. Some of the farm has been in the family since 1866. They have four children, Kim, Tim, Kathi, and Kari.
They raise about 270 acres of corn and alfalfa and have a herd of 72 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows. There is some pasture and the rest is set aside for wildlife. Over the years they have installed many practices. On the cropland, they farm in contour strips and have put in 2,700 feet of grassed waterways to reduce soil erosion. They had a nutrient management plan written in order to know how much nutrients the fields actually need for the crops, so they do not over apply fertilizer. They have put 26 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program. Most was seeded to native prairie, and some of it was planted to trees.
They put 1.5 acres in the Conservation Reserve Enha-ncement Program to create a buffer along Richland Creek. This buffer not only traps sediment and fertilizers from the cropland, but is an excellent habitat cover for pheasants and other grassland birds.
Richland Creek is classified as an exceptional water resource by the DNR and runs through their property. They have installed nearly 1,100 feet of rock rip-rap to stabilize the stream banks and have installed a rock crossing to provide a solid place to drive across the stream. They have one pond they had constructed and have also put in three shallow wildlife scrapes. Shallow scrapes provide habitat for migratory birds and amphibians. They have noticed an increase in the amount of deer and turkeys they see using their land.
The Brown's also hosted the annual Green County land judging contest two years ago.
For all the work they have done to improve the land, they have earned the Green County Wildlife Habitat Development award.
Outstanding Conservation Farmer
Craig and Katharine Edler said that a generous woman is whom they have to thank for their success as a dairy operation.
In 1976, they moved onto the 220 acre Margaret Tuescher farm and farmed on halves with her for 20 years.
It was her taking a chance on them that the Edlers appreciate so much. While farming on halves, they were able to buy more land to expand the land base of the farm.
In 1981, they bought the land that the present-day facility sits on. After farming on halves for 20 years with Tuescher, they cash rented the farm from her for five years, and then bought it from her. Edlers named the farm after their children, Cameron, Cali and Kara. That is why they named it Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms. In 1995, their present day facility on County P was built.
They have gradually added acres to the farm as they have become available. Currently, the farm operates about 1,700 acres of cropland in Green, La Fayette and Stephenson counties. There are about 120 acres of pasture, 25 of woodland and about 130 acres of wildlife land. Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms own 638 acres in Green County and 115 in La Fayette County.
This is a family dairy farm. Besides Craig and Katherine working on the farm, two of their children and a spouse are employed on the farm.
Cameron takes care of the crops and machinery, Cali tends to the baby calves while her husband, Jake, specializes in genetics for the farm. The farm has 12 full time employees and 13 part time. They milk 550 cows three times a day and care for 600 young stock.
Conservation is an obvious way of life on this farm. About 325 acres of the Green County hill ground is in contour strips.
They have changed them slightly over the years to accommodate the bigger equipment. He has two fields he will be relaying this fall and next spring. Craig tries to no-till as much as possible, but he also injects their manure, so some tillage is inevitable.
This past winter he learned how to write his own nutrient management plan. It's a farm-based plan that balances the crops nutrient need with manure and commercial fertilizers that are applied, which has saved him money in several ways. He didn't have to pay someone else to write it, he feels more comfortable with applying only manure for his crops and he knows where on the farm it's most environmentally risky to spread manure.
A manure storage structure was built in 2000, so they could better manage manure applications.
Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms have installed diversions around the buildings to keep clean rainwater from entering barnyards and feed storage areas. Grassed waterways were built in areas of concentrated flow, one that's about four acres with CRP cost sharing and some he did without cost sharing. In their woodland, they exclude cattle and allow some hunting.
Craig is a member of the Wisconsin Manure Haulers Association and serves as a director for Dairy Farmers of America. Katharine is on the Green County Farm Service Agency's County Committee.
The Edlers are doing their part to conserve soil and protect water quality on their farm. That is why Green County is proud to present them with this year's Outstanding Conservation Farmer award.
They own 390 acres in Jefferson township. Some of the farm has been in the family since 1866. They have four children, Kim, Tim, Kathi, and Kari.
They raise about 270 acres of corn and alfalfa and have a herd of 72 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows. There is some pasture and the rest is set aside for wildlife. Over the years they have installed many practices. On the cropland, they farm in contour strips and have put in 2,700 feet of grassed waterways to reduce soil erosion. They had a nutrient management plan written in order to know how much nutrients the fields actually need for the crops, so they do not over apply fertilizer. They have put 26 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program. Most was seeded to native prairie, and some of it was planted to trees.
They put 1.5 acres in the Conservation Reserve Enha-ncement Program to create a buffer along Richland Creek. This buffer not only traps sediment and fertilizers from the cropland, but is an excellent habitat cover for pheasants and other grassland birds.
Richland Creek is classified as an exceptional water resource by the DNR and runs through their property. They have installed nearly 1,100 feet of rock rip-rap to stabilize the stream banks and have installed a rock crossing to provide a solid place to drive across the stream. They have one pond they had constructed and have also put in three shallow wildlife scrapes. Shallow scrapes provide habitat for migratory birds and amphibians. They have noticed an increase in the amount of deer and turkeys they see using their land.
The Brown's also hosted the annual Green County land judging contest two years ago.
For all the work they have done to improve the land, they have earned the Green County Wildlife Habitat Development award.
Outstanding Conservation Farmer
Craig and Katharine Edler said that a generous woman is whom they have to thank for their success as a dairy operation.
In 1976, they moved onto the 220 acre Margaret Tuescher farm and farmed on halves with her for 20 years.
It was her taking a chance on them that the Edlers appreciate so much. While farming on halves, they were able to buy more land to expand the land base of the farm.
In 1981, they bought the land that the present-day facility sits on. After farming on halves for 20 years with Tuescher, they cash rented the farm from her for five years, and then bought it from her. Edlers named the farm after their children, Cameron, Cali and Kara. That is why they named it Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms. In 1995, their present day facility on County P was built.
They have gradually added acres to the farm as they have become available. Currently, the farm operates about 1,700 acres of cropland in Green, La Fayette and Stephenson counties. There are about 120 acres of pasture, 25 of woodland and about 130 acres of wildlife land. Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms own 638 acres in Green County and 115 in La Fayette County.
This is a family dairy farm. Besides Craig and Katherine working on the farm, two of their children and a spouse are employed on the farm.
Cameron takes care of the crops and machinery, Cali tends to the baby calves while her husband, Jake, specializes in genetics for the farm. The farm has 12 full time employees and 13 part time. They milk 550 cows three times a day and care for 600 young stock.
Conservation is an obvious way of life on this farm. About 325 acres of the Green County hill ground is in contour strips.
They have changed them slightly over the years to accommodate the bigger equipment. He has two fields he will be relaying this fall and next spring. Craig tries to no-till as much as possible, but he also injects their manure, so some tillage is inevitable.
This past winter he learned how to write his own nutrient management plan. It's a farm-based plan that balances the crops nutrient need with manure and commercial fertilizers that are applied, which has saved him money in several ways. He didn't have to pay someone else to write it, he feels more comfortable with applying only manure for his crops and he knows where on the farm it's most environmentally risky to spread manure.
A manure storage structure was built in 2000, so they could better manage manure applications.
Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms have installed diversions around the buildings to keep clean rainwater from entering barnyards and feed storage areas. Grassed waterways were built in areas of concentrated flow, one that's about four acres with CRP cost sharing and some he did without cost sharing. In their woodland, they exclude cattle and allow some hunting.
Craig is a member of the Wisconsin Manure Haulers Association and serves as a director for Dairy Farmers of America. Katharine is on the Green County Farm Service Agency's County Committee.
The Edlers are doing their part to conserve soil and protect water quality on their farm. That is why Green County is proud to present them with this year's Outstanding Conservation Farmer award.