Check Out Your Conservation Fieldprint February 9

Farmers aren’t just fans of conservation; their very livelihoods depend upon. Long-term success in farming is not only tied to profits and bottoms lines, but it’s also entwined with on-farm sustainability.

That’s why Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is hosting the Conservation Chat: Your Conservation Fieldprint to introduce Ashland area farmers to a free, no-strings-attached tool to help not only identify their farm’s sustainability but to also create new opportunities or recognizing their good stewardship with new financial incentives.

“We’re really excited to be able to put the Fieldprint calculator into the hands of Ashland farmers with no cost and no risk,” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “Last year  our district implemented a new conservation stewardship certification program, and the higher levels of that certification are built around the Fieldprint calculator and the objective measurements it provides in terms of on-farm sustainability, and it compares those numbers against state and national benchmarks.”

The Fieldprint calculator collect data on soils, topography, management practice and more. It uses that data to calculate objective sustainability scores or metrics looking at  biodiversity, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, irrigated water use, land use, soil carbon, soil conservation and water quality. Then, those numbers are compared against both state and national benchmark score.

“I have yet to work with our farmers who doesn’t think they doing a good job being a steward of their farmland, but it’s really hard for their farm to know where it stands on a sustainability spectrum, because there just aren’t readily available numbers and statistics to talk about with your neighbors down at the coffee shop over breakfast,” Houin said. “We can talk numbers when it comes to yield. We can talk numbers when it comes to planting populations. We can talk numbers when it comes to marketing and fertilizer prices. And now, we can talk numbers when it comes to sustainability and compare the job we think we are doing against state and national comparisons to see where we really stack up.”

Houin said the Fieldprint Calculator can be used to identify areas farmers are doing a great job at as well as to identify potential areas for improvement. In fact, improving a farm’s sustainability numbers is what certifies Ashland County farmers at the platinum level in Ashland SWCD’s Conservation Stewardship program.

And as an added bonus, private industry partners from across the country are working through the Field to Market partnership to connect with farmers dedicated to improving their sustainability are are willing to provide financial incentives for those programs and practices that result in improved sustainability scores.

At the Conservation Chat: Your Conservation Fieldprint, farmers will hear from Ashland SWCD Conservation Specialist Katie Eikleberry about Ashland SWCD’s Conservation Stewardship Certification program and how it uses the Fieldprint Calculator.

Eikleberry will demonstrate the calculator in action, and producers will also have a chance to hear from Leslie Fisher with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Fisher has worked with Field to Market to connect local farmers with the Fieldprint Calculator and then with private industry partners to provide cost share for practices that increased their sustainability score.

The Conservation Fieldprint Conservation Chat will take place at 1 p.m. at the Loudonville Library on February 9. Pre-registration is required, and the $5 ticket includes lunch from the Mohican Market. RSVPs can be made online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conservation-chat-your-conservation-fieldprint-tickets-478195384267 or by calling  419-281-7645.