The objective of this project is to facilitate the establishment of a network of edge-of-field (EoF) water quality monitoring demonstration sites in Kentucky, collectively known as Blue Water Farms. Through EoF monitoring, the Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board partners with the USDA NRCS, the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Kentucky Geological Survey and five western Kentucky farms to measure amounts of nutrients and sediment in runoff from a row-crop fields, and compare improvements under different conservation systems.

As described by the USDA NRCS, voluntary EoF water quality monitoring enables agricultural producers and scientists to quantitatively demonstrate the impacts of conservation work on water quality. Information from monitoring stations helps soybean producers make informed decisions regarding the use of inputs and conservation practices. These decisions, often called adaptive management, help soybean producers increase economic efficiency while maximizing yields. The information also demonstrates the value of conservation efforts by soybean producers. Monitoring stations enable NRCS to measure conservation benefits on water quality right at the edge of farm fields rather than try to estimate conservation effects from in-stream measurements that are subject to influences outside of the row crop producer’s control.

To date, Blue Water Farms has 10 established EoF monitoring stations in the loess-veneered, interbedded sandstone-shale soils of the Shawnee Hills: six stations in Daviess County 2018, four stations in McLean County 2019. Three more farm managers expressed interest in participating in the Blue Water Farms project and signed an EoF monitoring EQIP agreement in Fall 2019 to develop monitoring stations on small watersheds within their row crop fields. Sixteen potential watersheds were identified in the limestone derived soils of Trigg and Caldwell Counties and surveyed for suitable topography and accessibility. Four were determined to be unsuitable, leaving twelve watersheds for monitoring station development. To facilitate the development of these additional stations the University of Kentucky solicited The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board (KADB) for financial support to install flumes at the monitoring stations. With the KADB partner contribution of $228,000, four monitoring stations in Caldwell County have been completed and the remaining eight stations in Trigg County are in development and expected to be completed and pass NRCS inspection in Fall 2020. Out of the total twenty-two USDA NRCS EQIP monitoring stations, six will focus on nutrient management associated with poultry litter applications while sixteen monitoring stations will be used to evaluate nutrient runoff from crop rotations including cover crops.