From Aug. 2 to Aug. 9, a team of eight young scientists from the the Ecdysis Foundation, based in Estelline, SD, visited 18 farm sites in the area surrounding Sinsinawa Mound, including four Fields of Sinsinawa sites (a corn field, a pasture, the habitat restoration field, and one of the Collaborative Farms), three farms in Iowa, four farms in Illinois, and seven additional locations in Wisconsin.
The team of scientists took 64 soil samples per location, plus they collected biomass samples, did bug sweeps, and tested water infiltration. They will send the soil cores to Regen Ag Labs for PLFA (phospholipid fatty acid) testing (a soil test that evaluates the life in the soil), and they’ll conduct nutrient testing on the biomass samples and do a complete analysis on the insect populations.
The overarching goal of the 1000 Farms Initiative is to evaluate the biological markers available through these testing protocols to see if it’s possible to identify practices that produce healthier crops and healthier soils. In addition, the team is seeking to determine if there are specific species or patterns that could serve as a proxy for healthy ecosystems. While it will be quite a while before we get any results from the visit, they will undoubtedly prove very enlightening when they arrive.
In addition to the farm visits, Ecdysis joined Fields of Sinsinawa for a pop-up field day at the Mound on Monday, August 5. The team introduced themselves and explained the purpose and scope of the work they’re doing.
Dennis Busch, Research Manager of Pioneer Farm at UW Platteville, and owner of Water Resources Management, LLC, shared results of water runoff and infiltration tests he and his team conducted at Sinsinawa Mound this spring. He started by explaining how their testing shows water infiltration as well as particulate runoff and nutrient concentration in the runoff.
The fields tested included a wheat field, a recently tilled alfalfa field, and a field planted to perennial prairie.
While some of the results were not unexpected — for example, the tilled field had the highest levels of total Phosphorus loss and the highest concentration of particles in the runoff — there were a couple of surprises. One was that the perennial prairie had higher than expected phosphorus loss. The other was that the tilled field had the lowest rate of runoff (the percentage of water that ran off the field instead of soaking in).
Next, Rick Bieber talked about the adaptive management grazing he’s implemented with the tenants’ dairy heifers on the Mound’s pasture ground, and then we headed out to a nearby corn field where the Ecdysis team demonstrated some of the tests they conduct in their research. Finally, Rick showed off how well the heifers are cleaning up the weeds in the pastures, including the wild parsnip, thistles, wild grape vines, stinging nettles, and more.
With approximately 45-50 people in attendance – despite the day being a real scorcher — the field day was definitely a success. Fields of Sinsinawa is grateful to the team from Ecdysis for spending the afternoon at the Mound, and for coming to the area to sample so many of our neighboring farms as they seek greater understanding about the impact of farming practice choices.
