Understanding Nutrient & Sediment Loss at Breneman Farms 4 Understanding Surface Water Runoff at Breneman Farms Kevan Klingberg, Dennis Frame and Fred Madison UW Extension/Discovery Farms AnitaThompson Amanda Croweand TimRadatz Anita Thompson, Amanda Crowe and Tim Radatz UW Madison Biological Systems Engineering
Breneman Farms On farm research was conducted don the Breneman farm to investigate environmental challenges and opportunitiesfor grass baseddairiesonthe dairies Wisconsin landscape, 2002 2007. Surface water quality monitoring was conducted to measure sediment and nutrient loads in runoff water from paddocks that were used for regular rotational grazing, then again used to seasonally out winter the dairy herd.
Breneman Farms Grazing based dairy. 42 paddocks. 80 crossbred dairy cows + young stock. (1.6 acres / AU) Coarse textured soil Out winter cows and older heifers Columbia County, WI
Total watershed = 142.7 acres Breneman Farms Area east of road as well as western wooded area were determined to contribute negligible runoff towards watershed outlet. Monitored acreage Monitored area: small watershed where cattle are d h h h ll i d adjusted to 28.5 (middle area) acres. grazed through the season as well as out wintered.
Data The data presented in this presentation were provided by the UW Madison Biological Systems Engineering Department, as part of a cooperative project with the UW Discovery Farms Program.
Data Breneman Farms, Rio, WI: Monitored surface water runoff from October 2005 September 2007. Field year = 12 months (Oct 1 Sept 30) Always represents the year in which it ends Field year coincides with the crop year.
2006 Field Year The first year October 2005 September 2006 = overall average year. Precipitation (ice, sleet and snow) was 33.0 inches, compared to the 30 year average of 34.5 inches for Portage, Wisconsin.
2006 Precipitation vs. Average tion, in Precipita 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 30 Year Average 2006 Precipitation 0.0 October November December January February March April May June July August September Season Average 2006 Deviation Deviation Precipitation Precipitation (in) (% of Avg) Fall Sept Nov 8.39 7.64 0.75 91 Winter Dec Feb 3.89 2.14 1.75 55 Spring Mar May 930 9.30 12.1010 +2.8 130 Summer Jun Aug 12.95 11.10 1.85 86
2006 Field Year 3 of 4 seasons were drier than normal. Winter was most severe, with precipitation down by one half. Still, the big picture showed this to be an average year for total precipitation. p
2006 Field Year Winter began with a snowfall accumulation of 8 inches through mid December, followed by a warming trend with highs of 35 40 F and lows of 28 32 F. With only shallow frost in the soil at this time, the snowpack melted and infiltrated with no runoff. Becauseof the dry winter months, no surface water runoff was measured from November through February for field year 2006.
2006 Field Year March began with a 5 to 7 inch snowpack and surface water first began flowing through the monitoring equipment on March 4 as temperatures warmed. Snowmelt generated subsequent surface water runoff events on March 7 and 9. The runoff events of March 9 and 12 were a result of melting snow and rain on frozen ground.
2006 Field Year Through the remainder of field year 2006 there were two more surface water runoff events occurring on July 20 and August 24 as a result of short, intense rainfalls of greater than 1.5 inches each.
2006 Field Year Runoff Events Start Date Type Precipitation Event Runoff Cumulative Amount (in) Depth (in) Depth (in) 3/4/06 Snowmelt NA <0.01 <0.01 3/7/06 Snowmelt NA <0.01 <0.01 3/9/06 Snowmelt/Rain NA <0.01 <0.01 3/12/06 Rain 1.5 <0.0101 0.0101 7/20/06 Rain 2.0 <0.01 0.01 8/24/06 Rain 1.5 <0.01 0.01 2006 had very little runoff. Less than 1% (0.01 inches) of total precipitation (33 inches) left the site as surface water runoff. 79 % of runoff was during frozen ground conditions. Very little runoff resulted from 3.5 inches of intense summer storms.
2007 Field Year Second year monitoring on the Breneman farm was another average year for precipitation. Precipitation (ice, sleet and snow) was 32.4 inches, compared to the 30 year average of 34.5 inches for Portage, Wisconsin. Although the annual precipitation was average, 9 months were below average and 3 months were above average precipitation. Winter 2007 was dry again, concluding with slightly more than one half the normal precipitation. August 2007 precipitation was 4.6 6inches above normal.
2007 Precipitation vs. Average 90 9.0 8.0 Precipitatio on, in 7.0 60 6.0 5.0 30 Year Average 2007 Precipitation 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 Season Average Precipitation it ti 2007 Deviation Deviation Precipitation (in) (% of Avg) Fall Sept Nov 8.39 8.80 +0.41 104 Winter Dec Feb 389 3.89 215 2.15 174 1.74 55 Spring Mar May 9.30 8.14 1.16 88 Summer Jun Aug 12.95 14.20 +1.25 110
2007 Field Year Winter began moderately cool and dry with no surface water runoff measured from November through mid February for field year 2007. On February 21 st, surface water began flowing through the monitoring equipment as warming temperatures melted most of the five to seven inch snowpack, generating a two day runoff event. This event produced twice as much runoff as the entire 2006 winter season (0.01 inches compared to 0.02 inches), but it is not large when compared with winter runoff events measured at other Discovery Farms Program study sites.
2007 Field Year Late February temperatures stayed at or below freezing and 10 to 15 inches of snowpack accumulated by the first week in March. A fast warm up began with temperatures climbing from 26 F to near 50 F over six days. This created a significant runoff event, March 10 through March 13, which completely melted the snowpack. This rapid snowmelt, in combination with the frozen soil, produced a very large runoff event (2.85 inches of runoff).
2007 Field Year Snowmelt runoff, March 12, 2007
2007 Field Year Temperatures remained in the range of 40 to 60 F through early April. An early April snowfall of five inches melted immediately because of the warm temperatures, yet no surface water runoff was generated as snowmelt water infiltrated into non frozen soil.
2007 Field Year Three more oesurface water runoff events eetsoccurred through the remainder of field year 2007: June 10, June 21, and July 3. All of these short, intense rainfall events dli delivered dextremely low runoff volume, even though the storms each delivered approximately one inch of rain in 20 minutes.
Runoff Events 2007 Field Year Precipitation Event Runoff Cumulative Start Date Type Amount (in) Depth (in) Depth (in) 2/21/07 Snowmelt NA 0.016 0.02 2/22/07 Snowmelt NA <0.0101 0.0202 3/10/07 Snowmelt NA 2.85 2.88 6/10/07 Rain 0.8 <0.01 2.88 6/21/07 Rain 0.8 <0.01 2.88 7/03/07 Rain 1.2 <0.01 2.88 For the 2007 season, 9 percent of the total precipitation left the site as surface runoff (2.9 inches of 32.4 inches). 91 percent infiltration. The majority of 2007 runoff at the Breneman farm was the result of rapid snowmelt on frozen soil, March 10 13, which contributed 99 percent of the total annual runoff.
2006 2007 2007 Water Budget Occurrence of Runoff Events for Water Years 2006 2007 12 total runoff events. 5 snowmelt 1 rain on snow 6 non frozen 6 5 Snow Rain on Snow Rain 1 99.68 percent of total surface water runoff volume for the 2 year monitoring period was during frozen / snow covered ground conditions.
Conclusions On the sandy soils of this farm, intense rainfall events did produce runoff on non frozen ground, but the runoff amount was negligible. ibl Almost all of the total runoff in 2006/2007 from the Breneman farm came as a result of melting snow. 99.68 percent of total surface water runoff volume for the 2 year monitoring period was during frozen / snow covered ground conditions.
Conclusions Conservation planning is challenging in this region of the state because the majority of runoff occurs when the ground is frozen and vegetative materials are dead or dormant. Upland conservation systems should be paired with vegetative buffers to keep runoff water near the point of origin in the field and away from surface water.
Conclusions The potential for runoff from sandy soil fields during the nonfrozen period is very limited. An intense two inch rainfall event in July 2006 did not generate significant surface water runoff. There is always the possibility that rain on already saturated nonfrozen soil will produce runoff that can affect surface waters. In these gently sloping sandy soil conditions: Soil and water conservation professionals (and agencies) should Soil and water conservation professionals (and agencies) should prioritize their time and resources towards assisting agricultural producers to implement practices that reduce runoff risks during snowmelt or rain on frozen soil.
Information Available This presentation is the fourth in a series of seven developed to provide the data and information collected at Breneman Farms. All of the presentations, factsheets and briefs are available on the UW Discovery Farms website. http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org
Information Available There are seven factsheets available for Breneman Farms. There are eight briefs available for Breneman Farms (2page summaries of the factsheets). Th t ti il bl f There are seven presentations available for Breneman Farms.
For Additional Information http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org org UWDiscovery Farms 40195 Winsand Drive PO Box 429 Pigeon Falls, WI 54760 1 715 983 5668 5668 jgoplin@wisc.edu or drframe@wisc.eduedu