ALLEN COUNTY__ Drainage installation, drainage water recycling and soil health will be the focus of a field day being held  on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, beginning at 9 a.m. at The Ohio State University at Lima. 

Field demonstrations will be conducted by the Ohio Chapter of Land Improvement Contractors of America in an open  house-style format throughout the day and a variety of conservation practices will be on display featuring Extension  and industry experts. The event is free and open to the public and parking will be available on site. Registration is  required to attend. The event and registration details are available at go.osu.edu/limadrainageday/

The field day will also feature implementation and demonstration of conservation practices aimed towards water  quality improvements and ecological protection. Experts will cover two main practices: drainage water recycling and  saturated buffers. The DWR system will feature a recently constructed 5 million gallon-capacity water retention pond  that will collect runoff and drainage water from about 40 acres. The stored water can be used later in the growing  season for irrigating crops. Representatives from Valley Irrigation will discuss a center pivot irrigation system. These  practices have been implemented as part of the agricultural nutrient runoff treatments project funded by the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency through an assistance agreement with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. A  lunch will be provided and will include a short program. 

The organizing team includes Ohio State Lima, Ohio State University Extension in Allen County, Allen County Soil and  Water Conservation District, and OLICA. 

For more details and/or sponsorship information, contact Nic Baumer, agriculture and natural resources Extension  educator, at [email protected] or Dr. Vinayak Shedekar, assistant professor of agricultural water management, at  [email protected].  

About the farm 

The field day will take place at the Ohio State Lima Regenerative Farm, which started in 2020 and provides research  and educational opportunities focused on regenerative farming practices. The farm at Ohio State Lima is a learning  laboratory for farmers to see how regenerative ag can work in the real world and how conservation practices can  improve outcomes both on individual farms and collectively. 

Adequate drainage is a necessary step in the transformation of the farmland towards a regenerative farm. The team  envisioned a project to implement farm drainage and associated conservation practices on about 120 acres in four  years as part of a project funded by the Sustainability Institute at Ohio State. The project provides unique opportunity  to demonstrate quality construction and installation practices for farm drainage through a partnership with OLICA and  their associate members. 

Source: Vinayak Shedekar and Nic Baumer