Published: August 16, 2008 01:41 am      

Local farmer honored for conservation practices

Mike Johnson plans on hanging the plaque and ribbon he was awarded after being selected as Clark County’s River Friendly Farmer of the Year on the wall of his farm office. But for now, it’s only gotten so far as the backdoor of his home.

That’s because Johnson just returned from the Indiana State Fair, where he received the award Wednesday, and fittingly it was Farmer’s Day at the fairgrounds.

The Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and county districts, awarded 65 Indiana farmers with the designation. Johnson himself uses no-till farming, water and sediment control basins, and grass waterways to control erosion, increase water quality, and support wildlife on his 375 acre farm.

Johnson should know a thing or two about conservation practices in farming — he works with an Indiana State Department of Agriculture resource specialist helping other agencies install and design conservation practices on farmland.

His own conservation practices not only help the environment, they also help him in farming by reducing top soil erosion and decreasing the amount of “remedial work” he would have if the water washed away sediment.

“If you’ve got a gully, you’re doing remedial stuff every year — with (grass waterways) that will be there 20 years from now,” Johnson said. Johnson grows soybeans, corn, and hay, and he has a small herd of cattle.

The River Friendly Farmer award was initiated in 1999 to recognize farmers across the state who help keep rivers, lakes, and streams clean through conservation and management practices. So far, 300 farmers have been honored for their interest in maintaining the environmental integrity of Indiana land and water.

“I was honored to be selected,” Johnson said. “The more involved in the process, the more good I feel about it.”

The IASWCD partners with all 92 of Indiana’s soil and water conservation districts, and the Indiana Farm Bureau in maintaining the program. To be eligible, farmers have to maintain soil loss levels by appropriate tilling or crop rotation, have their field soil tested at least three times a year, keeping livestock out of sensitive areas, enhancing or managing non-cropland areas, and keeping farm records to track conservation practices, in addition to many other conservation practices required by IASWCD.