August 7, 2009

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES), designed to bring you valuable information and helpful tips for compliance with the Waste Discharge Requirements of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.  We strive to provide your dairy with quality service, while at the same time saving you money as you face the challenges of compliance.  Each week you will find features on compliance issues, regulatory changes or common questions, as well as workshop notices and introductions to the WUES Technicians.  If you have missed any of our past issues, they can be found on our website at http://www.wuenvironmental.com/updates.htm.

Take The BMP Challenge

Western United Dairymen has partnered with Sustainable Conservation and American Farmland and Trust in encouraging farmers to participate in the Best Management Practices (BMP) Challenge. The “BMP Challenge for Reduced Tillage” is now available to all Central Valley farmers growing corn for grain or silage. The “BMP Challenge for Nutrient Management” is currently only available in San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus counties.

Participating in the “BMP Challenge” will be a “win, win” for everyone, farmers and the environment, says Senior Project Manager Ladi Asgill of Sustainable Conservation. The award-winning nonprofit partners with California farmers to promote practices that are good for the environment and good for business. The challenge can be added to what producers are already doing for their management plans to meet air, water quality standards and help reduce permit fees. California farmers have voiced that they want to implement practices that can both save them money and will directly impact the practices that can both save them money and will improve the environment. The BMP Challenge does just that, as numerous California farmers have found. Farmers will find this program educational and risk-free as it can be done on a small test plot, says Asgill.

Participating farmers who incur crop or revenue losses due to implementing beneficial practices on their land will receive reimbursement. Farms interested in trying conservation tillage on a limited basis can use one of a number of implements on loan from the California Conservation Tillage Workgroup at UC Collaborative Extension. Tom Barcellos, a dairy producer out of Tipton, has been using conservation tillage since 2001 and has not purchased a cultivator bearing in seven years. He can attest that no extra equipment needs to be purchased; even a basic planter with a coulter attachment can be used.

Barcellos, who farms over 1,800 acres, started implementing the best management practices just to meet conventional tillage yields due to the savings with fuel and labor. Now Barcellos, uses less water at pre-irrigation, sees an improvement in the turnaround time of crops and has decreased the amount of equipment he uses, allowing more time to monitor the crop needs. Frank Silva another California farmer from Walnut Grove has been using conservation practices for six years and has been reaping the benefits ever since.

Over 150,000 lbs. of nitrogen and 2,000 tons of sediment loss have been saved by those already participating in the program, says Asgill. What makes this program so doable is that you can see the results at harvest time when comparing yields and net returns. 

Sustainable Conservation in collaboration with American Farmland and Trust, Aglex, Integrated Pest Management Institute of North America, and the California Conservation Tillage Workgroup has been able to utilize a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, which will allow farms to partake in the BMP Challenge for the 2009 spring planting.

For more information about the BMP Challenge contact: Ladi Asgill, Sustainable Conservation (209) 576-7729, Jeff Mitchell, California Conservation Tillage Workgroup at (559) 303-9689, or Paul Martin, Western United Dairymen at (209) 527-6453.

Irrigation and nutrient management seminar set for Modesto Aug. 12

Improving irrigation and nutrient management with mechanical move systems will be the topic of an Aug. 12 meeting at the Stanislaus County Ag Center. Topics include Controllers and Smart Technology, Land Application and Dairy Waste Water, Solid Separation and Filtration and Conservation Tillage and Residue Management. Hosted by East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District, UC Cooperative Extension, Stanislaus, and the USDA - NRCS Modesto Service Center, the session runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Harvest Hall. Pre-registration by Aug. 7 is requested in order to plan for lunch. RSVP to (209) 491-9320, extension 113 or email JulieAnn.Hoffman@ca.nacdnet.net .  Aug. 5, 2009 UCCE Notice

CALENDAR OF MONTHLY MONITORING ACTIVITIES

AUGUST

To receive more information on WUES, please contact your WUES Environmental Technician or WUES Office:

·         Phone (209) 238-3818

·         Fax (209) 238-3808

·         Email: info@wuenvironmental.com

·         www.wuenvironmental.com