Applied nutrients have been considered essential for productivity on southeast Minnesota farms. At the same time, field runoff and nutrient loss from applied manure and fertilizers can enter surface and groundwater, threatening human health and the quality of drinking water and streams.
HOW ARE WE INNOVATING in 2023?
This series of articles showcases farmers and agronomists who are working with neighbors, advisors, suppliers and third party private and public researchers to increase water infiltration, retain nutrients in soil and crops, and manage nutrients for profitability and sustainability. Collaboration and innovation look different in every place, but the mission is the same: to support producers and leasing landowners in making beneficial decisions for their families, farm businesses, land, water, and communities.
LOCATIONS
People featured in these stories are working across a diverse southeast Minnesota landscape, on broad upland fields and rolling bluffland slopes. The location of each collaboration is shown on the map below.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
​This series of articles began in conversations with retail crop advisors who were looking for ways to support customers, increase nutrient efficiency, and address water quality concerns.
​
This project is collaborative southeast Minnesota work funded by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Minnesota's Clean Water Land and Legacy Fund, administered by Winona and Wabasha Counties and led by NewGround, an independent strategic communications group focused on community and watershed health.
​
Series author JIm Ruen is an agricultural journalist who lives and works on a small farm outside La Crescent, Minnesota. “I have had the good fortune to spend the bulk of my career sharing the work of exceptional farmers and their agronomists, as well as public and private researchers, working in agriculture and related fields throughout the U.S. and Canada. The farmers and agronomists in these stories, as well as the researchers working with them, are committed to making a difference on their farms and in their communities and sharing what they learn with other farmers and the public at large.”
