Field day looks at protecting water quality

On June 24, from 4:30-7:30 p.m., a field day will showcase how the practices utilized by local farmers are protecting local water quality and how others can help at home. Speakers will provide more details about the types of farming practices, their importance to soil health, and how homeowners can improve the soil health and decrease the run-off at their homes. The field day will start at Tauchen Harmony Valley, W2648 River Road, Bonduel. The Tauchens are using no-till, interseeding, and grazing to increase their soil health, increase infiltration, and decrease large run-off events. The second location, starting at 6:30, is the Muellers Farm, W5497 County Road BE, Shawano. The Muellers are using grazing techniques to ensure their dairy cows are happy and healthy. Grazing also adds the benefit of continual ground cover to help slow down and stop any large run-off events. Water quality has been a growing concern for watershed residents and farmers. In 2019, the Upper Fox and Wolf River Watershed Demonstration Farms Network was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and Waupaca County Land and Water Conservation Department, in partnership with Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, and Winnebago counties and the Green Lake Association. The mission of the network is to demonstrate to farmers and general public that the right combination of traditional conservation practices and other innovate technologies functioning on the landscape can produce viable and sustainable economic and environmental benefit. There are 10 demo farms located within the watershed. Here in Shawano County, Tauchen Harmony Valley is a participating farm. Register by June 17 at https://fwwa.org/ShawanoCoFieldDay2021 or by calling 920-851-6472. This event is being put on with support from Natural Resources Conservation Service, Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network, Waupaca County Land Conservation Department, Shawano County Land Conservation Department, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, Waterways Association of Menominee and Shawano Counties, Tilth Agronomy and Connecting Our Waterways.