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Green Lands Blue Waters

Midwest Perennial Forage Working Group

Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops

a SARE Research & Education Grant project

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Project coordination:

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Amy Fenn

Project Coordinator

Jane Jewett, University of MN

Project Co-Lead

Laura Paine, University of WI

Project Co-Lead

Erin Meier, University of MN

Administrative Lead

Green Lands Blue Waters

Midwest Perennial Forage Working Group

GLBW is a vision for profitable agriculture

based on keeping the soil covered productively year-round:

farming with Continuous Living Cover.

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3 years, 6 states

  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Wisconsin

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This project creates opportunities:

This project creates opportunities for farmers to share their interests, challenges, and needs, and for the crop and livestock organizations that they engage with to hear from their members and meet those needs with programming and resources.

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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Bucket 1: working advisory group

Building Relationships * Listening for Common Ground * Integrating Crops & Livestock

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One of the goals of this project is to build relationships between groups that don't always get to work together. We've purposefully structured this project as a collaborative round-table using an approach of respectful listening, looking for common ground in diverse viewpoints, and putting our heads together to move shared interests forward. Your viewpoint is a valued contribution, we hope you'll participate and lend your perspective!

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Bucket 1: working advisory group

  • 50+ organizations
    • State-level livestock associations
    • State-level crop associations
    • Crop and livestock researchers, educators, and service providers from universities, agencies, and nonprofits
    • Other stakeholder groups representing soil health, underserved farmers, etc.
  • 12+ farmers
    • 2 from each state

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Establish working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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Bucket 2: Infographic

  • Designed through input & guidance from the Advisory Group: team-building!
  • Infographic will be used to help promote the survey

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Advisory feedback becomes a revised draft

Advisory input becomes a rough draft

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Bucket 2: Infographic

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Establish working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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Bucket 3: Survey

Design

  • Survey design June-Dec ‘22
  • Guided by the Advisory Group
  • UW-Madison Survey Center expertise

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Bucket 3: Survey

Dissemination

  • The survey will circulate for 1 year (Jan-Dec 2023)
  • Distributed through Advisory Group networks using toolkit provided by MMIH

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Bucket 3: Survey

Analysis

  • All work done in conjunction with the Advisory Group and UW Survey Center
  • Response processing: Feb-May ‘24
  • Response analysis: June-Oct ‘24
  • Report complete & released by Nov ‘24

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Bucket 3: Survey - results

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Results could be useful for:

  • Fact sheets
  • Curriculum development & workshops
  • Program development
  • Informing policy

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Establish working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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Bucket 4: Farmer Case Studies

  • 6-8 Case Study Farms, 1+ per state
  • Farms with demonstrated success integrating crops & livestock
  • Data gathered will be used to develop templates for enterprise budgets, protocol suggestions, a calculator-type tool, etc.

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Bucket 4: Farmer Case Studies

  • Small group to develop interview protocols, analyze results, and develop enterprise budgets:
    • Denise Schwab (Iowa State University Extension)
    • Jeff Duchene (Minnesota NRCS)
    • Jim Paulson - lead interviewer (Fieldstone Agricultural Consulting)
    • Jordan Thomas (University of Missouri)
    • Sam Porter (Minnesota NRCS)
    • Margaret Chamas (Practical Farmers of Iowa)
  • Studies & budgets will be released in conjunction with on-farm field days in 2024

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Establish working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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Bucket 5: Field Days

  • Summer & fall of 2024
  • Featuring the Case Study Farms
  • Funding available for organizations sponsoring field days

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6 buckets of work:

  1. Establish working advisory group
  2. Infographic
  3. Survey
  4. Farmer Case Studies
  5. Field Days
  6. Library

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Bucket 6: Library

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  • Website with curated collection of:
    • materials generated by this project
    • existing materials from partner organizations
    • other relevant materials

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6 buckets of work - timeline

  1. Establish working advisory group…..February 2022
  2. Infographic………………………….April 2022
  3. Survey………………………………June 2022 - Dec 2024
  4. Farmer Case Studies………………..May 2022 - May 2024
  5. Field Days…………………………...summer/fall 2024
  6. Library………………………………ongoing

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Questions?