Five Precision Conservation Tools Available to Ashland County Farmers for Free

Technology can take the stress out of decision making. On a road trip and a road is closed? Your phone can reroute you in minutes. Shopping for the best deal on a new appliance? Compare your options online in moments.

Today’s agriculture is no different. New technologies allow farmers to calculate the pros and cons on different management decisions at the click of a mouse to optimize their bottom line while protecting the environment, too. And now, Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is offering access to five of the top precision conservation tools in the country at no cost to Ashland County producers.

“Precision conservation tools are a great tool for farmers to put in their arsenal to help maximize their nutrient efficiency and improve profitability while reducing their environmental footprint all at the same time,” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “Technology helps us make better decisions in every aspect of our life, and it’s no different in agriculture.  Precision modeling helps farmers make better decisions by gathering all available data—data and details no farmer can keep in their head with such detail—and bringing those resources together to make the best possible decisions for the farmer and the environment.”

Two new tools Ashland SWCD is offering farmers this year are the Fieldprint calculator and the Truterra Insights Engine. The Fieldprint calculator measures on-farm sustainability through eight different metrics: biodiversity, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, irrigation water use, land use, soil carbon, soil conservation and water quality. The calculator identifies areas where sustainability can be improved and compares those numbers against state and national benchmarks.

“The Fieldprint calculator is the basis of our new conservation stewardship certification program at Ashland SWCD,” Houin said. “One of the big advantages it offers is that in can seamlessly sweep data from farm management tools farmers are already using into the calculator to make the process simple for farmers. And our district Conservation Specialist Katie Eikleberry will walk producers through the process, identify potential areas for improvement, and then help plan for and implement conservation practices that may fit those individual operations.”

The other new tool is the Land O’Lakes Truterra Insights Engine. This tool provides farmers with targeted insights to help farmers better tailor their management practices and implement practices on a field by field basis. Truterra also serves as a basis for farmers who are interested in participating in Land O’Lake TruCarbon carbon trading program, and Truterra is also one of the farm management tools that works seamlessly with the Fieldprint calculator.

“We’re just really excited to be able to partner with ag retailers and put these tools into the hands of Ashland County farmers with no out of pocket cost for the producers,” Houin said. “There’s no other soil and water district in the state, possibly the country, that is able to put tools like these into the hands of their farmers through those retail relationships. Farmers, ag retailers, and soil and water conservation districts—we’re all chasing the same goal: sustainable ag practices, and that has to be based not only on environmental impact but also on profitability on the farm.”

For the third year, Ashland SWCD is also offering 100% cost share for producers interested in utilizing the Winfield United’s Field Forecasting Tool and Yara International’s Adapt N nitrogen modeling tool. Through a partnership with Ohio State University, they are also able to offer farmers access to the On-Field Ohio phosphorus risk assessment tool.

In addition to Ohio State, Ashland SWCD is partnering with Land O’Lakes, Field to Market, Winfield United, Heritage Cooperative, Sunrise Cooperative and Yara International to help put these tools into the hands of Ashland County farmers. For more information on using these tools on your farm, contact Joe Christner, Ashland SWCD watershed assistant at 419-281-7645.