Nutrient Management Farmer Education Curriculum Revised

Jan 20, 2017

By Scott Sturgul

An updated Nutrient Management Farmer Education Curriculum was released in early January 2017. This popular collection of nutrient management education tools is produced by the UW-Extension Nutrient Management Team with contributions from numerous programs and individuals. The curriculum contains training materials required for Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (WDATCP) certification of farmers writing their own nutrient management plans.

Revisions to the curriculum include:

A module on the 2015 version of the USDA-NRCS 590 Nutrient Management Standard and associated Technical Note. Please note that the revised curriculum still retains a module on the 2005 590 USDA-NRCS Nutrient Management Standard and Technical Note as well.
Information on the SnapPlus nutrient management planning software program. The SnapPlus module includes the December 2016 version of the SnapPlus training manual, SnapPlus “how to” videos, and information about the SnapMaps feature of SnapPlus.
Links to useful nutrient management mobile applications.
A collection of informative nutrient management videos.
Updated information from WDATCP, WDNR and USDA-NRCS on their nutrient management programs.

The 2017 edition of the curriculum is contained on a USB flash drive. The flash drive contains multiple PowerPoint presentations for the farmer workshops. Also included are speaker notes, associated publications and worksheets, program evaluation materials, and a user’s manual.

Source: wisc.edu

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.