Nestled between New York, Vermont, and the province of Québec, Canada, spans one of the largest freshwater lakes in North America: Lake Champlain. Like many lakes, phosphorus from nonpoint source pollution – urban, agricultural and forest runoff – is the primary threat to water quality. High concentrations of this nutrient can lead to algal blooms and excessive aquatic plant growth, which impairs water quality and recreational opportunities.
In the New York portion of the Lake Champlain watershed, approximately 8.7% of the 1,844,276 acres is agricultural land, yet it contributes an estimated 27% of the state’s phosphorus load to the lake. Nutrients from fertilizers, manure and soil – if not properly managed – can runoff fields where they are deposited in local waterways, deteriorating watershed health.
NEIWPCC, in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), works with farmers in New York to implement best management practices (BMPs) to reduce the amount of phosphorus leaving their land. To inform and support projects like these, NEIWPCC employs an agronomist who works out of a NYSDEC office. Since 2012, she has worked in close partnership with farmers and soil and water conservation districts to identify the agricultural needs and concerns of New York’s farmers and offer science-based conservation solutions. Her observations and recommendations can lead to innovative BMP funding opportunities, like the three select LCBP-funded projects described below: interseeding cover crops, retrofitting corn planter equipment, and installing temporary manure stacking pads.
Thresholds for phosphorus pollution in the lake are outlined in the U.S. EPA approved Lake Champlain Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which was developed jointly by New York and Vermont state agencies. This management document divides the lake into 13 segments, each with an assigned target concentration level for phosphorus. Learn more about this collaborative TMDL approach on the Clean Water Pod podcast.
Planting Between Corn Rows
Four farmers in Clinton County, New York, participated in a trial project to establish cover crops between rows of corn during the growing season. This farming method limits nutrient runoff by stabilizing the soil as well as increasing its fertility by capturing nutrients after a crop is harvested.
The Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD) provided the participants with free access to a six-row cover crop interseeder, an expensive piece of machinery designed to efficiently reduce planting time and costs.
“The interseeder is basically a big grain drill that allows you to straddle the corn after it’s been planted,” said Peter Hagar, CCSWCD district manager. “That way, you can put a cover crop in that doesn’t compete with the corn growing or affect the yield.”
Pulling from research conducted across the Northeast and Midwest, staff from the CCSWCD provided guidance and technical assistance to the farmers on the optimal seed mix and when to plant their land. With this support, the farmers interseeded 120 acres of cover crops – exceeding the project goal of 100 acres. In addition, farmers also received a cost share incentive of a multispecies cover crop seed mix.
At the project’s conclusion, the participants shared their experience working with the interseeder at local meetings to encourage its use among other farmers, as the CCSWCD continues to offer access to the machine.
No-Till, No-Problem
In addition to planting cover crops, reduced or no-till planting is proven to reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss, therefore preserving soil health and protecting water quality. The act of tilling – turning over the top layer of soil before planting – breaks apart the soil structure and roots, making it susceptible to erosion by wind and water. No-till practices support soil health by keeping beneficial microorganisms intact and are better suited to absorb water. Additionally, no-till practices save farmers both time and money by reducing planting time and fuel consumption.
In this project, the Champlain Watershed Improvement Coalition of New York (CWICNY) offered farmers technical and financial assistance to modify conventional corn planters, focusing on farms with cropland adjacent to waterbodies. Once participating farms were selected, no-till agronomic specialists visited the farms to provide specific equipment recommendations and again later to provide on-site troubleshooting. In total, the CWICNY retrofitted seven corn planters, resulting in the planting of 381 no-till acres. According to the CWICNY project report, on average, planting corn with a no-till planter can lead to an over 90% reduction in soil loss on northern New York soils.
Over-Wintering Nutrients
Manure is a primary source of nutrients – namely nitrogen and phosphorus – for crops and grazing fields on many farms. During the non-grazing season, the cows are confined, and in the case of smaller farms, the manure is collected each day to be spread on the fields. However, spreading manure on frozen or over-saturated ground can lead to nutrient runoff, and the machinery used can compact the soil, damaging the health of the field. Without a designated site to store manure until conditions improve, some farmers may not have an option to delay spreading.
“Most larger farms have a constructed manure storage, and really big farms are required to have engineered storage,” said Hagar. “Smaller farms that are milking 50-60 cows may not have manure storage, and there’s no requirement for them to have long-term storage. That’s where this project came in.”
This CCSWCD-led project worked with two dairy farms to place temporary manure stacking pads that properly store the manure until optimal spreading conditions. Following USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) standards, the stacking pads were installed at least 300 feet from water and on soil with low nitrogen-leaching indexes to reduce the risk of nutrient runoff. The pads afford the farmers storage and the flexibility of when to use the nutrients, benefiting both the farms and the environment.
When reflecting on this project and other LCBP-funded CCSWCD projects, Hagar says, “Our job is to help landowners implement practices that will help protect water quality. It may not be the number one priority they [the farmers] have, but we can usually talk them into why it’s an important thing to do and get their buy-in on these projects. The fact that we’re helping to cost share and pay for these small projects through either your [NEIWPCC-LCBP] grants or through state grants does help to get more buy-in and get them to commit.”
Stewarding Watershed Health
Agricultural BMPs like these add up over the years and across farms to benefit local soil health, the farmer’s bottom line, and ecosystem health. While New York farmers are one piece of the larger phosphorus solution in the Lake Champlain watershed, they play an important role as environmental stewards to their land and the greater landscape.