Farm operators in Louisiana this summer will begin a Master Farmer program similar to the forest industry's Master Logger program, teaching farmers how to meet environmental quality guidelines for water quality in Louisiana streams and rivers.
Fred Sanders of the LSU AgCenter Cooperative Extension Service, said the first programs will be in the Teche-Vermilion and Mermentau watersheds in South Louisiana, where Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements have been established by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality under EPA guidelines.
Work in the Calcasieu and Ouachita watersheds are due in 2002, Sanders said.
The Master Farmer program was designed by the LSU AgCenter, to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) on a voluntary basis, as public concern over environmental effects of agriculture and forestry production practices has grown in recent years.
Recent court decisions and regulatory proposals call for the designation of almost 70 per cent of Louisiana water surface bodies as "impaired," (not meeting established standards for oxygen, fecal material, and metals).
Hypoxia (low oxygen content) in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, and recent TMDL and National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) proposals targeting agriculture and forestry "have clearly created a great need for enhanced LSU AgCenter initiatives," according to a statement from the University.
The AgCenter studies have focused on (1) defining the effects of agriculture and forestry production practices on environmental quality, (2) identifying the technology needed to reduce adverse impacts of those activities, and (3) development and implementation of Extension programs that will lead to adoption of BMPs to result in measurable improvements in environmental quality.
BMP publications have been developed for rice, sugarcane, corn, soybeans, and sweet potato crops, as well as for poultry, dairy, and swine.
Review teams have been formed to establish BMP documents and publications for beef cattle, commercial vegetables, and aquaculture crops.
Agricultural BMPs focus of four main areas, including nutrient (fertilizer) management, pesticide management, soil and water management, and general farm BMPs.
The Master Farmer Program for Louisiana will have three main components: Environmental Stewardship, Agricultural Production, and Farm Management (economics).
The AgCenter announces that Phase I and Phase II of the program will focus on environmental education and commodity-specific BMPs. Phase III of the Environmental Stewardship component is the viewing of BMPs actually implemented on model farms.
Phase IV is development of farm-specific conservation plans by participants in the Master Farmer Program, and implementation of recommended BMPs on their individual operations. A participating farm operator must participate in all four phases of the Environmental Stewardship Program to earn Master Farmer-Environmental Stewardship status.
In its plan for establishing the Master Farmer program, LSU AgCenter says, "Much of the water entering Louisiana waterbodies comes from rainfall runoff. As this runoff travels across the soil surface, it carries soil particles, organic matter, and nutrients, such as phosphorous and nitrogen. Activities on agricultural lands contribute to the amount of these materials entering streams, lakes, and estuaries. Solutions to controlling runoff will require the efforts of agricultural producers, landowners, government, private citizens, and private organizations."
"Sediment is the largest pollutant by volume in surface water in the nation. Sediment comes from agricultural sources, construction sites, and other soil-disturbing activities in urban settings that leave the soil exposed to rainfall. Sediment increased the turbidity of water, thereby reducing light penetration, impairing photosynthesis, altering oxygen relationships, and may reduce the available food supply for certain aquatic organisms. It can adversely impact fish populations in areas where sediment deposits cover spawning beds.
"Over the last decade the quality of water has become the focus of concern among issue groups in Louisiana. Louisiana has over 340 stream segments on the 303(d) list as being impaired. The court has ordered that all these segments be assessed to determine if pollution reduction is needed, and the amount of reduction. Agricultural production has been targeted as a major contributor to these impairments."