Tech ​Tool for Water ​Resource ​Conservation

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Tech ​Tool for Water ​Resource ​Conservation

The precision conservation planning tool developed by Agren, Inc. and Land O'Lakes, Inc., allows a conservation planner to custom-design crop field buffers to trap sediment and nutrients as water flows off a field.

land o lakes sust.pngThe Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources announced the approval of Ag BufferBuilder, a precision conservation planning tool from Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN, the sustainability business unit of Land O'Lakes, Inc., as an alternative practice option under the Minnesota law that requires a 50-foot buffer around all fields that drain to public waters.

The AgBufferBuilder tool uses site-specific soil information, 40 years of daily climate data and precise topography mapped by lasers to model the flow of water and sediment from a crop field.

agBufferBuilderPhoto.jpg
AgBufferBuilder is a GIS-based computer program for precision design of vegetative filter strips around agricultural fields. The tool analyses the terrain for spatial patterns of overland runoff and designs a variable-width configuration that matches those patterns to provide a constant, user-selected, level of performance along the field margin. The tool also can assess the performance level of existing or hypothetical configurations.
Image source: National Agroforestry Center

This technology identifies where there will and will not be a concentrated flow of water so farmers can strategically place buffers where they are needed. Farmers can install a variable-width buffer that achieves the same—or better—water quality protection using significantly less acreage than a 50-foot buffer. 

The Ag BufferBuilder tool is the latest offering in the Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN suite of tools to help farmers install best-in-class sustainability practices, customized to each operation's unique landscape and needs. The goal of SUSTAIN is to provide each farmer with comprehensive management tools and conservation practices that help them optimize their agricultural production while also protecting our air, soil and water resources. 

Land O'Lakes' extensive data and imaging technology is designed to help farmers pinpoint specific solutions for his or her farm, ranging from improved soil management practices to precision application of fertilizers. To learn more about SUSTAIN, visit sustain.ag.

The Ag BufferBuilder tool will be available through authorized Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN ag retailers who will deliver the conservation planning tool as a service to their growers. Ag retailers outside the Land O'Lakes cooperative network can license the tool with a fee. 

Source: PR Newswire

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