Dodge County, WI
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How has Conservation improved or gotten worse in the past 10 years
Improved
Cover crops are gaining value to farmers | Easily Improved |
Improved soil erosion | Cover cropping and no-till has improved soils |
Conservation has improved vastly with reduced soil losses adn better water quality | Improving |
More aware of conservation programs now than 10 years ago | Getting better as farmers are planting more cover crops and using vertical tillage |
I feel it’s improving very well with more farmers implementing cover crops, no till, and minimum till practices. | Improved by efforts of the healthy soils/healthy water groups ,gotten worse by persistent flooding of the rock river. |
It has improved as more farmers are using conservative practices such as nutrient planning, no till farming and cover crops | Agricultural practices have improved allowing for more advanced practices in the management of land |
As farmers, we have a great relationship with county Land Conservation and the NRCS, federal government. I wish more farmers would get on board with these practices. | Closer control of manure spreading is required especially during critical run off periods. Improved through Healthy Soils program with Producer awareness and technology transfer |
Conservation planning and nutrient management planning have improved ground/surface water quality over the past 10 years. Too much tiling and ditch cleaning. | Conservation Practices have gotten Better in the last 10 years. Growers/Farmers are using more No-Till and Reduced Tillage Practices. Some Growers are Planting Cover Crops. I hope those 2 conservation practices continue to grow. |
I think the implementation of storm water runoff holding ponds and conscious farming practices in regard to eliminating runoff are making a positive impact, it just takes time and a can do attitude. | Dodge farmers are better understanding how to protect their land via reduced tillage and cover crops and waterfront property owners are also learning about how to protect their land thanks to the Dodge County Alliance. |
Land and water conservation practices have improved over the past 10 years. Seeing increased use of no-till/minimum till farming practices. Greater use of fall cover crops. Less manure application on frozen ground. Development of water quality management plan for Beaver Dam Lake. Farmer led water quality plans. Improved treatment of urban waste water with P based discharge standards. |
Gotten Worse
Gotten worse because water levels are down | Lakes have/are suffering from algae. |
It has gotten worse, seems if the city need more land the city just get it. | Worse. Landfill capacitys keep getting larger |
Agricultural Practices have gotten worse, with more BIG farms | The lakes seem to be getting worse. Every year Beaver Dam Lake is covered in a thick green goop |
It has gotten a lot worse than 10 + years ago because of all the liquid waste being dumped on fields. | Conservation has gotten worse by large farms and the amount of manure on fields. We need to protect the ground water before it is too late. |
The lakes and rivers have gotten worse as far as pollution. Lots of weeds and not able to swim or ski in the waters. | Some areas have improved, however some things we won't know their impact until the future. |
Only have been here 5 years but I think worse, less funding available to work on areas of concern | I believe the expansion in farms in my area will affect groundwater. Nitrates are on the rise. I believe it is worse. |
Worse. Nitrates in my water. Nutrient management let me put more fertilizer on the soil. Markets and insurance force higher yields. Better no-till use but not by all. NR-151 may be needed but will be a financial hit to farmers and landowners. Is there compensation for this. | Algae blooms have gotten worse over the past 10 years, it's not global warming, it is phosphorus, mostly agricultural. I live on Beaver Dam lake, Carp have set our lake quality back 20 years over that past 3 years, this one is 100% on the DNR( who otherwise I have very high regard for). |
Conservation has gotten worse in the past 10 years. Dodge County has allowed the creation of too many 5-20 acre rural parcels for residential development. This has compounded run-off issues in rural areas, and created more impervious or less impervious surfaces. The move of dairy farms to CAFOs has created unaddressed TMDL issues, as they lack the TMDL oversight that a municipality must endure. We need to be honest, Agriculture has become a heavy industrial land use practice in a rural landscape. Nutrient management plans seem to be useless and lack teeth. |
Stayed the Same
I think some of both. Many farmers and lake property owners are taking steps to improve the way they manage their land. Many are still reluctant to try a new way and don't believe it will have a quick enough return for them to invest in it. I believe as a whole the agricultural community is more aware of soil erosion prevention and soil health. We still have a lot of work to do. | It’s about the same. I think most of any improvement noticeable has occurred above and beyond and outside of Dodge County landing water department |
Stayed the same |
Miscellaneous
Too much large Agriculture | More conservation tillage practices |
Recycling is better | Cutting the ditches and snow plowing |
Only lived here two years | No idea, I have been in this are for that long |
Awareness and training to promote voluntary participation in erosion/runoff prevention. | Conservation has been trying but possibly improving practices or education. |
Not sure I have been impacted one way or another | More and more homes, businesses and other development is coming into our rural area |
As a citizen, I really don't have good reliable information to make such a judgement. | Wetlands continue to be protected, which needs to continue |
To many restrictions on Buidling, permits, zoning etc | Too many industries being developed |
House built by the Marsh detracts from its natural state. Building of permanent structures in this area should not be allowed. | Producers have started to learn about soil conservation and health, but are not reacting quickly enough. |
I think farming practices are largely antiquated and need to change. No-till hasn't really caught on and needs to to prevent surface run-off and other clean water challenges. | Parsnip should be mowed along roads more frequently as it goes to seed and blows onto previously uninfested areas. |
More people just doing as they please because of combination of naivity and exerting perceived freedoms. | Selling land for subdivision is the one thing I hate to see. dodge county is unique in that it's still county land |
Not enough clean water projects. Protect fishing quality in lakes and rivers. Stocking programs | I have land in the butterfly program. Recently the CRP has better financial yields and the programs they offer are have more variety. |
Dodge county has never had a clean sweep of hazardous chemicals for residents of our county. They have only done the program for farmers. This event should include also electronics and medication. Come on it's almost 2022. All are related to us living and our enviroment. | Larger farms with huge manure lagoons have created some large challenges that could cause catastrophic events. Potential for polluting our water sources is higher than ever via over application or a spill of liquid manure. |
Continued use of tillage and chemical pesticides and fertilizers along with corn/bean rotations are degrading soil health Increased use of no-till and cover crops are steps in the right direction. But farmers need to diversify past corn and beans and need to decrease synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use. Grazing and other soil health practices need to be utilized | It seems that often decisions are made to accommodate the vocal fringes. Decisions must be balanced to meet the needs of the majority, with an eye to preservation of water, land, air and species. What good is the preservation of individual rights if it leads to the destruction of the environment we live in. |
The strict regulations on "large" farms like ours is needed but I see detrimental practices by smaller farms happening with almost no one monitoring them. Exp. Working up fields right up to the very edge of a stream, river or drainage ditch. Applying manure on top of the soil when the ground is frozen and not being required to work it in like our farm does. | There needs to be a lot more in ground water run off. When it rains the Rock River turns brown with dirt. |