Recognizing the Lower Fox Demonstration Farms 10th Anniversary
Floor Speech
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Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tenth anniversary of the Lower Fox Demonstration Farms (Fox Demo Farms) Network and to celebrate its success in expanding the adoption and implementation of conservation farming practices throughout the Lower Fox River Basin.
Fox Demo Farms was the first of its kind in the Great Lakes region. It was created through a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Brown County, and four producers in the Lower Fox River Watershed of Northeast Wisconsin and funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Fox Demo Farms set out to demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of conservation practices to reduce erosion and sedimentation. control phosphorus runoff. and address other nonpoint source pollution issues.
To appreciate the significance of the Fox Demo Farms' success, it is helpful to understand the challenges of the region. Surrounded by a rural landscape of forests and farms, the Lower Fox River basin, like many in the Great Lakes region, encompasses varied weather, geology, topography, and soil types that pose challenges in preventing eroded sediment and nutrients from entering the Lower Fox River, the Bay of Green Bay and Lake Michigan.
The Lower Green Bay and Fox River region was designated an Area of Concern (AOC) under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. High phosphorus levels fuel hypoxia in the bay, resulting in dead zones and fish kills. Reducing the amount of phosphorus and sediment leaving agricultural lands plays an important role in efforts to delist the Lower Fox as an AOC. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was the catalyst for NRCS and Brown County leaders to partner with farmers to adopt, maintain, and expand leading-edge conservation strategies that improve soil health and reduce erosion.
Since its founding in 2013, Fox Demo Farms has stayed true to its mission, ensuring growers have the opportunity and resources for peer- to-peer education about experimental and innovative conservation farming practices.
Even more notable is Fox Demo Farms's success in fulfilling its vision to create a culture that encourages collaborative efforts to restore soil health, reduce runoff pollution, improve water quality, and support a strong regional economy.
During the past ten years, through its field days, roundtables, promotions, and social media platforms, Fox Demo Farms generated enthusiasm for new conservation farming practices. The Fox Demo Farms partnership with NRCS grew from four producers and Brown County Land and Water Conservation Department to eight producers, their crop consultants, land and water conservation departments at both Brown and Outagamie counties, Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District (NEW Water), and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
Moreover, the collaborative work and success of Fox Demo Farms inspired the expansion of demo farms networks across Wisconsin to seven networks with more than 30 farms spanning 17 counties. Demonstration farms networks are also active in New York and Ohio, with one gearing up to launch in Indiana next year.
The Fox Demo Farms has created opportunities for farmers to meet and build relationships with other farmers, which helped transfer knowledge throughout the watershed. The work by Fox Demo Farms has been pivotal in transitioning farmers from being on the cutting edge of innovative practices and working in silos, to community conservation where farmers and organizations work together toward solutions.
Mr. Speaker, join me in thanking the farmers and partners of Fox Demo Farms for their leadership and perseverance in elevating the value of conservation farming practices and congratulating them on their remarkable achievements. I am enthusiastic about their continued leadership and success in engaging more farmers across the Great Lakes Region to adopt conservation farming practices.
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