Farmer School

January is over?  I'm not sure what happened, there, but apparently 2018 is going to go FAST.

Farming most definitely does not stop over the winter.  Lately, we have a lot of meetings, or, 'Farmer School.' These meetings are for our own good to learn more about what research is going on, or other ways to manage what we are already doing.

My goal for this year is to learn more about the farm finances.  I'm lucky to have some awesome Women in Ag Extension classes to attend nearby:  Annie's Project and Women Managing Farm Finances.

I get to do some pretty fun things while I'm attending these 'school' days, too :)

Duane Murley, KWMT radio, interviews Kellie Blair during the #ISAFRC18. The Blairs participate On-Farm Network trials to improve their farming operation near Dayton. pic.twitter.com/lIB3XXIEBd

— Iowa Soybeans (@IowaSoybeans) February 7, 2018

Other posts on this topic:
Tis the Season for Meetings

Tis’ the Season for Meetings

Over the winter we do a lot of paperwork (catch up).  We have piles, we have taxes, we have planning for the next year, we have crop to deliver, and we have school papers to sift through (seriously, this may be our largest pile). 


Also over the winter months we have MEETINGS!!  I call them meetings, but mostly it is school for adults.  Do you have continuing education for your job?  Farmers have the same thing.  This week alone I have a variety of options to attend:  Iowa Pork Congress, Iowa Soybean Association’s Legislative Reception and District Advisory Council, and my daughter’s class has invited me to talk about farming. 

There are so many things for us to be involved in, and we learn something from all of them. We get involved because it is our way of learning but also being able to give our input on what is important on our farm for the coming year.

The Trouble with Water Quality

I apologize for not writing for awhile.  Apparently, it is super cool to have meeting after meeting after meeting in January, February, and March.  And, apparently, I want to go to EVERY SINGLE ONE. 

I received an update Tuesday afternoon about a lawsuit that is going forward in the state of Iowa.  This lawsuit isn’t in our county or our watershed, but it could have an impact on the way we farm in the future.  Water quality is important to me and my family.  We drink the water, too. 

I’ve written before of some of the things we do on our farm for water quality (confluence tour, ISA tour, cover crops, and Kossuth county tour) .  These are things we will continue to do, regardless of the lawsuit.  I know others will, too. 

However, this lawsuit frustrates me because it will not help water quality.  The lawsuit wants farmers to file permits to discharge nutrients, just like the company does itself.  So, instead of working on ways to reduce nutrients, we pay to release them.  For the goals in my farming and professional life, this doesn’t make sense.   

Data (that is useful and trustworthy) has actually shown that water quality has been improving in the larger watershed that the lawsuit is directed towards. The decline in nitrates may be small, but it is certainly encouraging.  See page 7-8 of this progress report http://www.acwa-rrws.org/pdf/ACWArpt2013.pdf. 

Water quality can only be improved with a team approach.  Water quality is a complex process in which there is no “one size fits all” practice (i.e. regulation) that will ‘fix’ it.  I am working with farmers in my watershed and others to achieve the goal of improving water quality.  Continual improvement is key. 

With that (and off my soap box) what #1NewThingforWater will YOU do? 

Below is a photo of our wetland this spring.  Water sits in this and helps to reduce nitrates in the groundwater. 

Iowa Confluence Tour on the Blair Farm

We had another wonderful tour out to our place.  This was the Iowa Confluence Tour.  Again, we were talking about the Nutrient Reduction Strategy in Iowa, and its impacts on our farm.  We talked about some of the same things we talked about on the Environmental Discovery Tour.  We were able to talk about some of the stuff that we are currently doing with nutrient placement, timing, rates, and tillage.


Something else we focused on was adaptive management.  As farmers, we have a large impact on the land, water, and air.  We have to continually learn and grow in order to improve.  This includes conservation along with technology, crop varieties, equipment, and etc.  In order to improve we need to try new things.  One thing we do is tests, or trials, on our own farm.  When we learn something one year, we try it again, and in more places the next.  This way we can figure out if it is more profitable, more efficient, and better for our farm. 

If the Nutrient Reduction Strategy is regulated by the government, we will be limited on what we can do.  We need the ability to learn and the ability to continually improve on our farm.