The milk you drink or the beef you eat may have come from a farm that rotates its livestock in a certain way to establish a healthier landscape. Wisconsin farmers who practice managed grazing have another chance for new federal funding.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $22 million is available for regional networks of farmers who offer peer-to-peer technical assistance on this practice. Managed grazing involves raising and feeding livestock on a pasture and moving them regularly, to allow that section of land to recover.

When federal funding was restored last year, Margaret Krome, policy director at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, said the demand was overwhelming.

"It really wasn't a very long application period, and we still had a lot of applicants that couldn't get funded because there was just not enough money," she said, "and we anticipate that will happen again; we really want to make sure Wisconsin farmers have their organizations apply."

These waves of assistance come after a 15-year absence of federal funding for the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. Krome said they're hoping to regain the momentum for this practice from previous decades. The application deadline is May 26. Benefits linked with managed grazing include improved soil health and carbon sequestration.

In northwestern Wisconsin, dairy farmer Kevin Mahalko has been doing managed grazing on his land for nearly 30 decades. He said it has allowed his operation to survive difficult stretches, including drought. And it keeps his expenses lower.

"The cow is doing more of the work," he said, "and using fencing instead of as much equipment, it cuts down on a lot of repairs and maintenance and diesel fuel."

Krome said expanding these education networks can especially help beginning farmers as technology improves, with things such as electric fences for moving livestock.

"That technology, and others that are emerging, has made it a much less expensive investment than many, many approaches to farming," she said.

For decades, Florida's upstream farmers and downstream aquaculturists have been at odds over water quality and environmental impacts.

Now, the new initiative "Healthy Farms-Healthy Bays" seeks to bridge the divide and foster more collaboration to protect Florida's fragile ecosystems. It has released a new report outlining its vision, as well as specific steps to protect water quality and conserve Florida's working lands.

Randall Dasher, a Suwannee County farmer and co-chair of the initiative, played a key role in uniting groups to work on creating a healthier watershed.

"It is about coming together and collaborating, getting across the table from each other in a nonthreatening way," Dasher explained. "Because too much of that has gone on. That just makes people be less likely to listen and hear, and talk about best practices."

The partnership, supported by the Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Work Group and a $100,000 grant from the VoLo Foundation, brings together farmers, aquaculturists and environmental experts to tackle challenges like nutrient runoff, declining water quality and the effects of climate change.

Ernie Shea, president of the nonprofit Solutions from the Land, said the initiative marks a turning point in how Florida's agriculture and aquaculture can work together when it comes to climate change.

"We're all affected," Shea pointed out. "Climate change takes no prisoners; it affects all sides of operations. And what we've done with Florida Climate-Smart Agriculture is bring together the entire value chain - the producers, right up through the associations that represent farmers."

The Suwannee River Basin was chosen as the focal point for their efforts. A team of farmers, aquaculturists and university experts conducted a two-year analysis to identify the most pressing challenges and propose solutions. One key recommendation is accelerating best practices to reduce nutrient runoff, from planting cover crops to using microbial sprays and reducing chemical inputs that affect water quality.


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Native grasslands are the most threatened ecosystem in North America.

A South Dakota advocacy group hopes its educational campaign will reach a wider audience after receiving a regional award. The South Dakota Grassland Coalition's recent television public service announcement, part of its "Where Good Things Grow" campaign, recently won an Upper Midwest Regional Emmy award.

Quality grasslands help clean air and water, sequester carbon, reduce erosion and provide wildlife habitat.

Ron Nichols, one of the campaign's creators, produced the television spot.

"The television spots in particular are designed to help people understand that we are all connected to the grasslands and that they're definitely worth protecting and improving their health," Nichols explained.

He said it was "affirming" the film's message resonated with the region and met the high standards of an Emmy Award. Nichols also hopes it will educate people about threats to grasslands including conversion to cropland, woody encroachment and the effects of poor management.

The one-minute film features footage of rancher Kelsey Scott and her nephews caretaking land on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Nichols emphasized he appreciated the opportunity to film a local rancher practicing good grassland management.

"Rather than going out and trying to get an actor, these spots are genuine," Nichols stressed. "They really reflect what's happening out on the land in South Dakota."

Along with the rancher's cattle, the PSA includes images of sage grouse, buffalo, pronghorn and a diverse sampling of grassland plant species.

Joe Dickie and his son, Charlie, filmed the scenes and images featured over several years traveling through South Dakota's grasslands. He is glad to showcase the results of regenerative ranching practices.

"Running cattle, resting the land, not overgrazing, being really aware of riparian areas along water," Dickie outlined. "Really just doing the right things for the environment."

The PSA aired more than 4,000 times this year.


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Ocean advocates are hailing a federal judge's decision that deemed a nationwide permit for industrial aquaculture structures unlawful.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' approval of the permit for finfish nets and cages was found to violate several environmental laws.

Center for Food Safety Legal Director George Kimbrell called that a win against corporate interests pushing to industrialize the open ocean.

"It's an important victory protecting our oceans," said Kimbrell, "their native ecosystems, and the communities that rely on them."

Still, Kimbrell said the court ordered both sides to return to court later this month with a plan on how to remedy the matter.

The ruling comes as an increasing number of Maine communities adopt emergency aquaculture moratoriums, but backers of large-scale aquaculture say it's needed to meet a growing seafood demand.

Maine's abundant coastline and working waterfronts make it an ideal place for an aquaculture business, and numerous small-scale shellfish and marine plant farms are boosting local economies.

But commercial fishermen say the growth of large, foreign-owned fish farms endangers both the ocean and their livelihoods. Kimbrell said a battle to privatize the ocean is underway.

"Taking parts of the ocean and saying, 'you can't fish here, and instead this is going to be an area we're going to allow a corporation to use exclusively for a certain number of years,'" said Kimbrell. "In this case, these are 10-year permits that would have been established."

Kimbrell said federal courts covering the Gulf of Mexico previously struck down efforts to establish industrial aquaculture there.

He said despite intense lobbying efforts by proponents, Congress has never passed a law authorizing large-scale aquaculture in federal waters.





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