Local counties developing demonstration farm network

By: 
NEW Media Staff

Area agricultural interests are working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to establish a demonstration farm network serving Oconto, Marinette and Shawano counties.

The Oconto County Board was scheduled on Thursday, Jan. 21, to consider a resolution committing $4,000 annually for three years to participate in the program.

The NRCS program enlists local farms to help demonstrate the effectiveness of conservation practices designed to reduce nonpoint source pollution, especially in critical watersheds of the Great Lakes basin.

“The purpose of the demonstration farm network is to demonstrate to farmers and general public that the right combination of traditional conservation practices and other innovative technologies functioning on the landscape can produce viable and sustainable economic and environmental benefits,” the resolution from the Land and Water Conservation Sub-Committee states.

The sub-committee endorsed a contract with Tilth Agronomy Group, a Seymour-based consulting firm that has helped stage field days for similar networks around the state.

The $4,000 allocation was included in the 2021 county budget the board approved in November.