BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – It was announced on Tuesday that Brown County will continue to fund a conservation project aimed at reducing erosion and sedimentation on local farms in their 2019 proposed budget.
Local officials gathered at Dairyland Farms in New Franken, which is part of the Fox Demo Farm project and the first farm to receive full funding from the county to control pollution issues.
A major effort needed to contain pollution issues is to reduce erosion and sedimentation and control phosphorus runoff, which can be achieved through planting cover crops.
In their first year as a Fox Demo Farm, Dairyland Farms successfully planted 1,000 acres of cover crops.
“If you buy a new vehicle and want to keep that vehicle nice you put a coat of wax on it… this cover crop is our coat of wax,” explains Brown County farmer Mike Pribyl.
The Demo Farm project is a collaboration between Brown County, the Natural Resources Conservation Services, and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach says it’s not the governments or any other agencies role to tell farmers how to do their job.
“In the end, it’s not going to be the government that ultimately convince the farmers to change their land management practices, it’s going to be the farmers,” says Streckenbach.
The good news for Brown County residents is that this effort should have long-term benefits for the community.
“They’re creating the organics and their turning it back into fertile soils for future generations,” explains Streckenbach.
And the hope is that future generations of farmers will be practicing methods that demonstrate effectiveness in their usage of conservation systems.
“If we can get the next generation farmer, who is going to take over the family business, interested in implementing these practices then I think we will come out with a win-win solution,” says Streckenbach.
He reiterated that local government is in place to assist farmers with the resources they require, but ultimately their practices will evolve only as much as they wish.
“We’re here just to be a supplement and a complement to help them learn how to best manage their soil,” says Streckenbach.
The continued funding for Fox River Demo Farms is part of Streckenbachs proposed 2019 Brown County budget, which will be discussed with the entire Brown County Board of Supervisors at their annual budget hearing on October 31.
