Press Releases

Software for the soil

March 31, 2011

PAW PAW – A group of Van Buren County farmers went on a field trip Wednesday. Literally.

The Van Buren Conservation District invited the farmers to get on a bus and travel to several farms in the Paw Paw and Decatur areas in order to kick off a grant program designed to teach better soil conservation methods.

They walked through fields to see the benefits of such conservation techniques as no-till farming, and the use of cover crops and filter strips.

“It went great. We had a great showing,” said district director A.J. Brucks. An estimated two dozen people, including about 15 farmers, went on the farm tour, she said. “It was a good crew and the field visits were great,” she said. “The weather wasn’t too bad. We even got a little sunshine.”

The conservation district received a $25,000 grant to teach corn farmers in the Paw Paw River Watershed this year how to use free online software to collect data and help them adopt better farm management practices.

The district will teach corn growers to use the Fieldprint Calculator, and the data provided by those farmers will then allow conservation district staff to develop strong data related to the watershed.

The field trip started with a detailed presentation on how the specialized software works. Technician Jared Foster used data provided by a Hamilton Township farmer to show how the system works.

“I think people got the idea off it pretty well,” Foster said.
The grant is from the Coca-Cola Co. and the World Wildlife Fund, and is renewable for another $25,000 next year.

The Fieldprint Calculator software was developed by the Field to Market organization. It is free for use by the public, and can be found on the Field to Market website.

The conservation district will use the grant money to do outreach programs to educate the watershed’s corn farmers, and to train the farmers on using the software.

All data collected will be anonymous.

ABOUT FIELD TO MARKET

Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture® brings together a diverse group of grower organizations; agribusinesses; food, feed, beverage, restaurant, and retail companies; conservation groups; universities and public sector partners to focus on defining, measuring, and advancing the sustainability of food, feed, fiber, and fuel production. Field to Market comprises around 200 members representing all facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain, with members employing more than 5 million people and representing combined revenues totaling over $1.5 trillion. 

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