Pheasants Forever has formed a new partnership in Minnesota to embrace precision ag technology as the bridge to achieve habitat, water quality and farmer profitability outcomes. Collaborating with AgSolver, Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), and the Sauk River Watershed District (SRWD), the partners are working together to combine business, agronomic, and conservation planning services (precision Ag business planning) for producers in central Minnesota.
Through this collaborative effort, Precision Ag business planning provides the opportunity for producers to increase profits by offering conservation practices that benefit water quality, soil health and provide wildlife habitat on non-profitable acres under current crop production scenarios. The foundation of this partnership is built on the technology of AgSolver’s Profit Zone ManagerTM (PZM) platform which focuses on return on investment (ROI), at a subfield level. Precision business planning defines areas where conservation makes sense for producer’s bottom lines by showing how each acre performs differently and provides the ability to create conservation scenarios to see the financial benefits before implementation.
“Stearns County SWCD is extremely excited to continue our tradition of providing technical assistance to landowners and helping them achieve their production and conservation goals,” states Dennis Fuchs, Stearns County SWCD district manager. “By working together with agriculture and conservation organizations the sky is the limit to achieving ag production, water and wildlife habitat goals for all of Minnesota’s residents.”
Within the Sauk River watershed, which includes Stearns County, this partnership will allow ten farmers to implement precision ag business planning. Pheasants Forever has recently hired Jared Nowacki as a Precision Agriculture Business Planning Specialist who will work directly with the farmer, and their trusted advisors, to use their data and input in the planning process. “Because of my background, being raised on a farm near Argyle Minnesota, and my appreciation for the outdoors, I am excited to use the latest technology to provide economic and conservation opportunities for Minnesota farmers,” said Nowacki. “This is a real opportunity to use technology to enhance sustainability in our state.” Nowacki comes to Pheasants Forever with an Ag Business Degree from the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Jared began working in October 2016 and is based out of Fergus Falls, MN.
“The Sauk River Watershed District is extremely pleased to be involved with Pheasants Forever, AgSolver, and Stearns County SWCD to implement this innovative approach for landowners while providing water quality benefits for not only MN but also states downstream,” expressed Lynn Nelson, environment project coordinator for SRWD. “Working together, we will showcase how conservation is both profitable for farmers and sustainable for Minnesota’s natural resources.”
Producers located within the Sauk River Watershed who would like to participate in the new Precision Ag Business Planning process, please contact Jared Nowacki of Pheasants Forever at
jnowacki@pheasantsforever.org or (218) 201-2196.
About Pheasants Forever
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 149,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent; the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $708 million on 517,000 habitat projects benefiting 15.8 million acres nationwide.
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org