Upper Fox-Wolf
Demonstration Farm Network
Image Credit: Matt Brugger
Who We Are
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and Waupaca County Land & Water Conservation Department, in partnership with Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, and Winnebago counties and the Green Lake Association, have launched the Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network.
What We Do
The Great Lakes region has diverse geology, climate, topography, and soil that provide challenges to controlling erosion and non-point source pollution. The diversity of the region creates challenges for land managers to develop conservation practice systems that function in a predictable manner while addressing the region’s conservation priorities.
The Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network supports a network of producers to address these challenges at the ground level and provide solutions that can be implemented on a large scale throughout the watershed. Producers voluntarily join the UFW Demo Network, then select conservation agricultural practices to apply on their operation, thus testing and demonstrating the best conservation practices to reduce phosphorus entering the Great Lakes basin.
“Through this collaboration and funding, we can publicly highlight the most effective conservation systems that have the greatest environmental and economic benefit, ” says Angela Biggs, USDA NRCS State Conservationist for Wisconsin. “Participating farms will demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of conservation practice systems that reduce erosion, sedimentation and nonpoint source pollution. The network will also provide education and technology transfer opportunities for the public,” said Brian Haase, Director of the Waupaca County Land & Water Conservation Department.
Together we achieve more.
Photo Credit: Pixabay from Pexels
Our Mission
The Upper Fox-Wolf Demo Farms’ mission is to demonstrate to farmers and general public that the right combination of traditional conservation practices and other innovative technologies functioning on the landscape can produce viable and sustainable economic and environmental benefit.
Vision
To create a culture that encourages collaborative efforts to restore soil health and reduce runoff pollution, improve water quality, and support a strong regional economy.
Together we achieve more.
Photo Credit: Pixabay from Pexels
Objectives
- Establish a Demonstration Farm Network in the Upper Fox – Wolf Basin to test the effectiveness of current and innovative conservation systems as they pertain to non point pollution control.
- Establish an efficient and effective mechanism to provide the transfer of technology and information on the effectiveness of conservation systems to the end-users, land management agencies, and agribusiness and the public.
- Create opportunities for others including resource, environmental research agencies and agribusiness to test research, technical assistance and program implementation on the demonstration farm sites.
- Create and implement an information/outreach strategy to share information and lessons learned to other natural resource managers, researchers, and stakeholders throughout the Great Lakes basin.
