Conservation efforts

highlighted during tour of

county by policy makers

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

BROWN COUNTY -- County policy makers toured 10 stops cited for conservation efforts to help protect and enhance soil and water quality Thursday.

The Brown County Conservation Tour included everything from a state-of-the-art dairy farm to restored wetlands and prairies.

The first stop was the Verne Radloff Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) wetland restoration in Milford Township near Essig.

About 146 acres were enrolled in CREP in 2002. Another 3 acres are in the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Program.

Seeding of native, warm season grasses was completed in fall 2002. The wetland restoration was completed in May. Wetland areas are expected to store about 25 acre-feet of water.

Radloff got cost-share assistance from CREP and technical assistance from the Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District, Brown County NRCS and Minnesota Bureau of Water and Soil Resources.

The property will save 146 tons of soil, 2,920 pounds of nitrate and 33 pounds of phosphorus per year.

A state-of-the-art milk house wastewater treatment system called a flocculator was next on the tour. Steve and Kerry Hoffman use the system on their dairy farm in Cottonwood Township, near Searles.

The $20,000 system treats water pollutants before they are discharged into a drain field. Water tests have shown the system removes 82 percent or more of pollutants.

Adapted from the wastewater treatment industry, lime flocculator treatment uses wastewater from the washing process that is pumped into a tank. Flocculent is added to concentrate pollutants into a sludge that can be separated from liquids.

Lime is added to help neutralize the pH. About 2 pounds of lime are added to 300 gallons of wastewater, mixed for 20 minutes, and allowed to settle for two hours.

Solid materials are disposed of with the manure or used as a soil amendment. Liquid is sent to an underground infiltration field for final treatment. Water conservation tests show 98 percent removal of phosphorus, 96 percent of solids and 82 percent of BOD.

The Hoffmans got 50 percent cost-share help from EQIP and 25 percent from the LCR Watershed Clean Water Partnership. Technical help came from the Brown NRCS, SWCD, St. Peter Area NRCS and Premier Tech.

Hoffman plans to expand his cow herd from 45 to 90 cows with a new compost barn using sawdust for bedding and styrofoam insulation.

"The cows aren't so comfortable now in the old barn that's too small," Hoffman said. "With more room and comfort, it'll be ideal for their health."

Among other tour stops were:

* CREP wetland restoration at the Ron Olson farm. One of the first CREP wetland restorations in the County, the 103-acre CREP easement was last cropped in 1999. Dikes and emergency spillways help manage water. About 10 million gallons of water are stored at full capacity.

* Rock inlet and CRP filter strips on the Aspelund farm in the Lake Hanska watershed. Two open tile intakes were replaced with rock inlets in 2000. They deliver up to 40 percent less sediment and particular phosphorus.

In 2002, a 40-foot filter strip was installed along Judicial Ditch 5 under continuous CRP. It saves 12 tons of soil loss per year.

A total of 145 acres of cropland have been enrolled in the CRP filter strip program in the watershed. Fifteen of 32 miles (47 percent) of eligible cropland has filter strips along a drainage ditch in the watershed.

* Recent Lake Hanska shoreline protection along the south boat access included 650 feet of sioux quartzite riprap at a cost of $23,000. Various funding sources were used.

* One of the largest and most diverse private prairie restorations was done by Gary Rathman in Mulligan Township. More than 400 native grass species and forbs were planted.

In just a year, he turned part of his farm from a corn or bean field into a very diverse ecosystem. His land is enrolled in CREP and CRP. He is saving 1,950 tons of soil loss, 13,000 pounds of nitrates and 440 pounds of phosphorus per year.

Brown County has 14,545 acres of 4.4 percent of cropland in some type of conservation easement.

The trip was sponsored by the Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District, BNC Water Quality Board, Brown County Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Brown County Farm Services Agency.