Manure Rate On-Farm Demonstration Project, 2004-2008
The objective of this On-Farm Manure Management Demonstrations project is to reduce delivery of pathogens, phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic materials from livestock manure to impaired surface waters of Minnesota. This objective is accomplished through enhanced farmer adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) and new technology for field application of manure.

On-farm manure management workshops were held with more than 150 farmers attending. Presentations on manure research and management were made to 75 corn producers. Results of on-farm manure rate trials were presented to 115 farmers, agronomists, commercial agriculture waste technicians and agency staff in four meetings. Small group nutrient workshops to determine the economic value of manure were delivered in six locations to 83 producers, consultants, commercial applicators, and agency staff. Results from a compost dairy barn manure study were presented to 200 farmers and agriculture professionals.

Read more on the University of Minnesota Water Resouces website: http://wrc.umn.edu/outreach/onfarm.html

Feedlot Management Education Project, 2000-2003*

Year 1: Information meetings were held in 53 counties for livestock producers outlining registration, permitting, and feedlot/manure management requirements in new state rules.

Year 2: Workshops for producers in 43 counties focused on manure records and planning.

Year 3: Information meetings in 25 counties outlined the Open Lot Agreement provision in the feedlot rules for reducing discharges from small open feedlots.

The education materials (publications and Powerpoint presentations) were prepared by a joint team of the UM Extension Service and the MN Pollution Control Agency (PCA). Regional train-the-trainer sessions prepared local Extension staff, County Feedlot Officers (CFOs), and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff to deliver the local meetings. Funding was from a Section 319 grant and state funds.

*Extension activities continue to be conducted on feedlot management using the materials and the expertise developed though this project.

Open Lot Education and Technical Assistance in Southeast Minnesota, 2003-2005
A combination of on-farm visits, technical assistance, and cost-share payments was integrated in a three-year project to bring small feedlots (<300 AU) into the Open Lot Agreement (OLA) of the state feedlot rules. The OLA requires a 50% reduction of discharges in the first phase, and complete elimination in the second phase. The first visit to a farm with a small feedlot was frequently made by a retired farmer who explained the program and signed the producer up. This was followed with a technical visit by the County Feedlot Officer (CFO). In some counties the CFO made all the contacts. By the end of the second of three project years, the eight participating counties had enrolled 69% of the estimated 3,098 feedlots of less than 300 animal units where potential pollution problems exist. The project goal is 90% enrollment. The three- year project is funded by a Section 319 grant and local staff time match.

Odor Measurement and Management Research
The UM Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering has done extensive research and development for measurement and mitigation of odor from confinement livestock operations. These include the design of biofilters for air treatment, instrumentation for odor measurement, and the "Odor from Feedlots Setback Estimation Tool" (OFFSET) for predicting odor production and movement around livestock operations. For more information see http://manure.coafes.umn.edu .

Feedlot Runoff Treatment Research
Preliminary research on treatment of open lot runoff using woodchip biofilters was conducted at the UM West Central Research and Outreach Center. Results were promising and led to a three-year laboratory and field research project that is beginning in 2005. Funding is by the state.

Shoreland Management Education
The Shoreland Education Program, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Extension Service, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center and Minnesota Sea Grant, works to improve water quality, habitat, and aesthetics of lakes and rivers. The program provides educational resources for shoreland property owners, the landscape and nursery industry, natural resource professionals, realtors, developers and local government agencies.

Key components of the program include workshops, hands-on field experience, educational materials, and research and demonstration sites. Workshops cover a range of water-related topics such as, basic limnology, Best Management Practices for shoreland property, aquatic and wetland plant identification, erosion control, invasive species control, shoreland revegetation, and shoreland maintenance and management. Many of these workshops provide hands-on and field experience that build participant confidence, resulting in long-term impacts in urban and rural areas of Minnesota. Educational products supporting the shoreland education programs include an award-winning Shoreland Management Resource Guide website and promotional materials, a regular newsletter, fact sheets, how-to workbooks, the Lake Home and Cabin Kit, and nine videos/DVDs addressing shoreland issues.

Since 1997, more than 150 shoreland restoration demonstration sites have been implemented on public and private lake and river shorelines. Research has included appropriate installation methods and alternative erosion control techniques. These demonstration and research sites are used to forward the science of shoreland restoration and provide the basis of many of the shoreland educational materials. Coordination of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan shoreland education programs will begin in 2008.

For more information, visit http://www.extension.umn.edu/shoreland.

The Impact of Subsurface Drainage on Fresh Water Aquatic Ecosystems
Please see the summary under Nutrients and Water Quality.

Minnesota's Onsite Sewage Treatment Program Provides
Comprehensive Community Assistance
The Onsite Sewage Treatment Program at the University of Minnesota is dedicated to protecting public health and the Minnesota environment through proper onsite wastewater treatment. Staff includes engineers, soil scientists, Extension educators and University faculty. Specific objectives of the program are to:

• teach proper system operation and maintenance;
• teach proper design, installation and inspection;
• provide research-based information about new and existing technology;
• assist residents and local governmental units with regulations and planning; and
• help small communities develop and implement wastewater treatment systems with an emphasis on management.

2006 Strip-tillage Expos
Over 600 farmers and agricultural professionals participated in field demonstrations and education sessions at the July 2006 Strip-Tillage Expos held at the University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Centers at Lamberton and Waseca in Minnesota. The nine strip-tillage implements demonstrated may have been the largest collection ever operated side-by-side. Education sessions on comparative yield response, soil fertility management, and guidance systems for strip-tillage were well-attended. A particularly popular session featured a panel of experienced strip-tillage farmers, who answered in-depth management questions. With the recent rise in fuel and fertilizer prices, farmers are attracted by the potential fuel savings and lower banded phosphorus and potassium fertilizer rates that strip-tillage offers. Responding to exhibitor and participant demand, similar Expos are being offered in northwest Minnesota and Waterloo, Iowa, in 2007, the latter in partnership with Iowa State University, the University of Wisconsin, and Hawkeye Community College. The Expos are capstone events following two years of on-farm conservation tillage trials and demonstrations. The project was facilitated by an EPA-funded and MPCA-managed 319 grant through the UMN-Water Resources Center, and is carried out by UMN-Extension and Experiment Station staff in collaboration with staff of the Monsanto Company.

For more information visit : http://wrc.umn.edu/outreach/striptillageexpo

The Impact of Subsurface Drainage on Fresh Water Aquatic Ecosystems
Environmental concerns about subsurface drainage have become the focus of numerous research efforts in recent years. Extensive summaries and reviews of literature on the environmental effects of drainage have been published, but these reviews have typically stopped short of describing the potential impacts to freshwater aquatic environments associated with these effects. A literature review was conducted to extend the known water quality and hydrologic effects of artificial drainage systems to subsequent impacts on freshwater aquatic ecosystems. A white paper was developed by a interdisciplinary team to interpret the findings of the literature review for the beach ridge and valley floor land/soil formations in the Red River of the North Basin (RRB)­, a region that has experienced an increased interest in subsurface drainage in recent years. These publications are currently under review to be published. The interdisciplinary team is now developing appropriate environmental sampling schemes to test hypotheses related to the impacts of drainage on aquatic ecosystems in the RRB. The sampling schemes will be included as a section in the white paper. Information from the literature review and white paper will be used to contribute to the development of the “Riparian/Aquatic Resources” chapter of the literature review and synthesis currently under development by The Wildlife Society pursuant to the Wildlife Component of the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP).  Information generated from the RRB literature review will also be used to develop technical notes on maximizing aquatic habitat quality and other environmental benefits with respect to tile drainage actions and management.

Small Group Preparation of Nutrient Management Plans Project
The goal of this project is to improve nutrient and manure management practices by increasing the number of crop nutrient and manure management plans written by farmers and agricultural professionals in Minnesota. From February 2003 to March 2006, 843 participants in 80 small-group workshops prepared two-field nutrient management plans for their own farms. The 3-hour workshops were planned and delivered by regional specialist staff of UMN Extension, with local producer recruitment and workshop arrangements carried out by livestock producer organizations, county feedlot officers, and staff of SWCDs and local Extension Educators. Most participants were non-CAFO livestock producers with manure management requirements under state rules. A survey was sent to 669 participants following the first cropping season when the NMP would have been implemented. Of the 50% who responded, 55% had completed their plans for the entire farm as a result of the sessions, 3% were still completing their plans, while 6% had completed them prior to the sessions. Of this group 92% were producers, managing an average of 785 acres, which indicates that the total crop area managed by all producer participants is approximately 609,000 acres. The increase in practice adoption from pre-workshop to post-season was 10% for soil testing, 21% for testing manure, 22% for calibration of spreaders, 29% for crediting nutrients in manure, and 33% for keeping records of manure applications. This project was funded from a Section 319 grant and matching Extension staff time during 2003-2006.

For more information visit : http://wrc.umn.edu/outreach/smallgrpplans/

Minnesota Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration Program
Terrestrial carbon sequestration is the capture and storage of atmospheric CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, in plants and soils. Numerous land management practices that are well-known for conserving soils, water quality, and wildlife habitat (e.g., conservation tillage, use of perennial and cover crops, reforestation and afforestation, and wetland and grassland management) also sequester carbon. Determining optimal strategies for increasing carbon sequestration in Minnesota’s landscape would promote increased sustainability of diverse ecosystems and – by adding a potentially valuable commercial product (sequestered carbon credits) – could promote new economic opportunities in the state. This project generated three white papers that were used as the basis for a legislative initiative, funded at $385,000 in the initial year. A report is due to the legislature in Feb 2008 to look at available programs and opportunities to sequester C in Minnesota landscapes. The original steering committee was expanded and now includes both Farmers Union and Farm Bureau. Finally, investigators expect to launch pilot programs in mid to late 2008 to encourage C sequestration in Minnesota.

Drainage Workshops
The University of Minnesota Extension Service and Water Resources Center conducted the Minnesota Drainage Management Conference in early 2004. The conference was held in Crookston and Willmar in January 2004, and was developed by a multi-agency planning team targeting the education needs of local water managers and planners, drainage and watershed authorities, conservation planners and their staffs and private engineers and consultants. Mark Holsten, DNR deputy commissioner, discussed Minnesota’s drainage law and the needs and issues of the 21 st century. Other topics included case studies of drainage systems in transition, making the most of a viewer’s report, downstream drainage/flooding problems, advanced legal procedures, wetland regulations, and integrating wetland restoration with drainage. Conference attendance was good and participant evaluations were very positive

Minnesota Stormwater Leadership Provides a Model for Great Lakes Region States
The University of Minnesota Stormwater Management Assessment Project recently completed a comprehensive stormwater research program with the goal of developing the manual Assessment of Stormwater Best Management Practices. The on-line document (http://wrc.umn.edu/ outreach/stormwater/bmpassessment) includes a novel 4-level assessment protocol for different types of stormwater BMPs, as well as a chapter on source reduction. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has renewed its contract with the University of Minnesota, through St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and the Water Resources Center, for the next biennium to expand and update this document to incorporate maintenance and additional case studies. The document will be newly titled Assessment and Maintenance of Stormwater Best Management Practices. The renewed project will continue trainings and outreach, incorporate maintenance procedures into an expanded manual, examine groundwater and thermal pollution associated with stormwater, and demonstrate the incorporation of stormwater BMPs into TMDLs.

Volunteer Stream Monitoring Partnership
Coordinated through the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center, the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Partnership (VSMP) is a collaboration between citizens, local government units, educators, state and regional agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector. Based on a strategic plan and determined to involve volunteers in a meaningful way in decision-making about Minnesota’s water resources, the VSMP provided coordination for volunteers and county-based programs in the Twin Cities region from 2000 to 2004.

The VSMP recognized that many volunteers were involved in monitoring the health of urban streams, but there was little communication between groups. Data collection was rarely translated into action, and agencies were reluctant to use data collected by volunteers. To make sure that the volunteer-collected data are high quality and accessible, VSMP emphasized QA/QC requirements, taught consistent protocols, and coordinated use of a centralized data base at the Metropolitan Council.

A new “Guide to Aquatic Invertebrates of the Upper Midwest” was printed in 2004, using funds from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and the Great Lakes Regional Water Quality Leadership Team. The 200-page, spiral-bound guide, which includes over 500 original drawings and a taxonomic key, is ideal for students, volunteer monitors, and aquatic resource professionals. The identification keys are divided by chapter and hierarchical order and ten families are examined thoroughly. The guide has received acclaim from professionals and citizens alike. The first 2000 copies have already been distributed in Minnesota, throughout the Upper Midwest, and beyond. We will produce a second printing in January 2005. To view the guide, or download PDFs, visit: www.vsmp.org.

In 2003 and 2004, the VSMP hosted River Summits at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The Summits are designed to bring together volunteers, local decision-makers, and natural resource professionals to share and compare data, learn new techniques and concepts, and celebrate the work of volunteers. In the four-year history of the River Summit, more than 800 people have attended and 43 professionals have shared their expertise in presentations.

Volunteers and citizens in the Vermillion River watershed translated their data to action, through a stewardship project coordinated by the Friends of the Mississippi River, on a subcontract through the VSMP. Students created Powerpoints and displays and made presentations to local units of government within the watershed. They received quite a bit of visibility, including newspaper articles.

Annually, in the seven-county Twin Cities area, over 2000 volunteers monitor about 60 sites. Although the VSMP will no longer have paid staff after 2004, its legacy of trained volunteers and local coordinators, appropriate protocols for low-gradient streams, consistent and user-friendly data forms, and improved communication among partners involved in volunteer stream monitoring will ensure the good work initiated by the VSMP will continue.