The Discovery Farms program is a farmer-led effort to gather field-scale water quality information on different types of farms across Minnesota. The three pillars of the program are farmer leadership, credible research, and communicating results.
This demonstration sites provides information on the characteristics of agricultural drainage from a typical field in south-central Minnesota. Results will help researchers evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of specific management practices.
The goals of this site are:
Evaluate the effectiveness of nutrient and pesticide Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Evaluate different management practices and compare the environmental and economic benefits
Evaluate farm profitability using different crop management practices
The Root River Field to Stream Partnership is a collaborative effort led by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in partnership with Fillmore, Mower, and the Root River Soil and Water Conservation Districts, local farmers, crop advisers, the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center, and the Nature Conservancy. Together, project partners are addressing the following key questions:
