From putting the finishing touches on a new system to convert countless gallons of waste and manure into clean water to investing in proven technologies, Dane County has been and will continue to be a leader in our efforts to clean up our lakes.
The Dane County Land Conservation Division helps landowners plan, design, and implement conservation practices, with the goal of protecting water quality and conserving soil in Dane County.
By Heidi Johnson, Dane County UW-Extension Crops and Soils Educator
The use of cover crops as a conservation practice in conventional, commodity crop production has been greatly increasing over the last couple of years. Here is a quick run down on what cover crops are and how they are being used in agriculture.
MADISON, Wis. — Clean Lakes Alliance has been awarded a $60,000 two-year grant from Fund for Lake Michigan to determine whether windrow manure composting could have water quality impacts in the Yahara River watershed and beyond, including potential reductions in phosphorus runoff.
“Our lakes face serious challenges from urbanization and intensification of agriculture,” said Elizabeth Katt-Reinders, Clean Lakes Alliance Deputy Director. “With its potential to manage manure, benefit soil health and protect our lakes, composting could be a big win-win.”
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, agriculture in Dane County accounts for $3.4 billion in economic activity annually. From our multi-generational dairy farms, to our land-grant university, to the Dane County’s farmer’s market, agriculture is part and parcel to our identity.
Lake Mendota has officially frozen over, after a long warm spell that left many wondering when (and if) the lake would ever freeze.
After a cold front drove temperatures below zero over the weekend and winds died down, Lyle Anderson, office manager at the Wisconsin State Climatology Office, knew the conditions were right for “instant ice.” Residents may have noticed a “steam fog” hanging over the lakes, created when cold air moves over warmer water, also a “harbinger of freeze.”
