Did you know that farmers care about clean water? Farmers are implementing practices on their land to improve our water quality, which we all depend on. Those practices include the planting of riparian buffers, grass waterways, cover crops, reduced tillage and the application of nutrients with precision technology just to name a few.

Buffer strips or grass waterways along the edge of fields and through low spots are crucial to the removal of nitrates from running water after excess rain fall.

Reduced tillage and cover crops also reduce the amount of nutrient runoff and soil erosion from fields.

More and more famers are now precisely applying their nutrients to the soil, allowing them to put exactly what they need where they need according to soil sampling, soil type, yield maps and other on-farm data. These practices allow farmers to save money and prevent them form over-applying.

Beyond that, farmers are also researching and participating in different water quality projects like saturated buffers, two-stage ditch design, proper nutrient management and organized watershed districts.

Farmers, university extension services and commodity organizations are also investing research to improve water quality. An exciting project going on in South Dakota is the work being done on denitrifying bioreactors. These bioreactors are basically giant filters made of wood chips which are buried underground at the end of a tile line. Past research shows that these filters can capture as much as 50-70% of the nitrates carried in the water.

The research on farm drainage is expanding rapidly in South Dakota as farmers and professors work together to help establish best management practices when it comes to land and water stewardship in the state and region.

Why do farmers invest in these things? Because they have a moral obligation to care for the land and water, which enable them to meet the growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber year after year, things that life depends on.

South Dakota State University Extension will host a two-day “Drainage Design and Water Management Workshop” in Aberdeen at the Ramkota on February 27 and 28.

This hands-on workshop will focus on the planning and design of agricultural tile drainage systems to meet both economical and environmental objectives.

The workshop is meant for anybody from farmers to landowners to consultants who are interested in gaining a better understanding of drainage design and/or water management.

Workshop topics will include:

• Legal aspects
• Basics of drainable soils
• Agronomic perspectives
• Doing your own tiling
• Land evaluation tools
• Conservation drainage

The early registration workshop price is $225. Space is limited and expected to fill up fast. You can register by clicking here.

If/when the Aberdeen workshop fills up, there will be a similar meeting held in Mankato, MN.

For more information, contact Chris Hay, SDSU Extension Water Management Engineer, at 605-688-5610.

We understand that committee testimony on SB 179 has been postponed until Wednesday February 13^th at 7:45am. It was originally scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday February 6^th.

We have been hearing from a number of farmers and want everyone to know that we are opposed to Senate Bill 179 “provide for a uniform county drainage permit application form and to remove the maximum limit for drainage permit fees.”

In the meantime, we urge you to contact the following legislators asking them to

VOTE NO on SB179.

You can do so by calling the senate lobby at 605-773-3821 or by directly emailing the following senators and representatives. Also, please attend your local cracker barrel this weekend and share your concerns with Senate Bill 179.

Bill Sponsors:

 Senator Mike Vehle (R) – Mitchell sen.vehle@state.sd.us

Rep.  Brian Gosch (R) (Speaker of the House) – Rapid City rep.gosch@state.sd.us

Senate Local Government Committee:

Mark Kirkeby (Chairman) (R) – Rapid City  mark_kirkeby@usc.salvationarmy.org

Reid Holien (R) – Watertown riedpuma@yahoo.com

Jean Hunhoff (R) – Yankton jhunhoff@avera.org

Dan Lederman (R) – Dakota Dunes dan@danlederman.org

Deb Soholt (R) – Sioux Falls sen.soholt@state.sd.us

Craig Tieszen (R) – Rapid City tieszenc@rushmore.com

Chuck Welke (D) – Warner chuckwelke@abe.midco.net

For a PDF of the entire bill and its sponsors, click here:

http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2013/Bills/SB179P.pdf

Did you know that farmers care about clean water? It’s true, and their practices prove it. They include the planting of buffer strips, cover crops, reduced tillage and the application of nutrients with precision technology.

Buffer strips or grass waterways along the edge of fields and through low spots are crucial to the removal of nitrates from running water after excess rain fall. Reduced tillage and cover crops also reduce the amount of nutrient runoff and soil erosion from fields. And famers who precisely apply their nutrients or plant food to the soil are able to apply just the right amount in exact spots needed.

Beyond that, farmers are also researching and participating in different water quality projects like saturated buffers, two-stage ditch design, proper nutrient management and organized watershed districts.

An exciting research project going on in South Dakota is the work being done on denitrifying bioreactors. These bioreactors are basically giant filters made of wood chips which are buried underground at the end of a tile line. Past research shows that these filters can capture as much as 50-70% of the nitrates carried in the water.

There are two things that all of these projects have in common: 1) They benefit our water. 2) They are all at a cost to the farmer. Whether it’s dedicating land or paying for the research, installation and upkeep, these projects are coming out of our producer’s pockets.

Why? Because they have a moral obligation to care for the land and water, which enable them to meet the growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fiber year after year that we all depend on.

Do you care about clean water? Assuming you said yes puts you into the same boat as farmers. While farmers need water to grow their crops, they also understand their role in lessening the amount of applied nutrients that excess water can carry away.

Researchers at South Dakota State University are working with farmers on a new project which will enhance the quality of water leaving tiled farmland, lessening the amount of nutrients carried downstream. These projects are called denitrifying bioreactors, which are basically giant filters consisting of wood chips which will absorb the nitrogen from water exiting the field through drain tile.

Just how much can these projects remove? Similar projects in Iowa and Minnesota show nitrate reductions of between 50-70%.

The advantages of these bioreactors would be that very little land would be taken out of production, they can be retrofitted to current drainage projects, they require very little maintenance and there is no reduction to the effectiveness of the drainage.

Construction of four to six separate projects in South Dakota will begin this spring. To learn more about the denitrifying bioreactors project, please visit the following site:

http://www.sdstate.edu/abe/wri/research-projects/bioreactors.cfm

Ag Phd’s Brian Hefty shares some insight on the benefits of drainage tile after speaking at the South Dakota Corn Growers 26th annual meeting. Proper drainage can benefit both the environment and the economy through a reduction in runoff and higher yields.