Latest / The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Podcast / Episode 04 | Bioreactors: A Farmer's Perspective
Transcript
- Episode 04 | Bioreactors: A Farmer's Perspective 00:00:06:05 - 00:00:23:27 Todd Gleason This is the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction podcast episode four bioreactors from a farmers perspective. I'm university of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason, today we're talking with Todd VerHeecke. He's a farmer from Geneseo, Illinois. I asked him to tell us about his operation. 00:00:24:00 - 00:00:33:02 Todd VerHeecke Yeah, well, I guess I kind of started farming since after college. I got a job, John Deere dam subsidies for my farm as well. 00:00:33:05 - 00:01:02:02 Todd VerHeecke Been, guess I’ve been farming since about 2006. So about 12 years now. Mainly for me, corn and soybeans. Might also help my dad with his farming operation. And we have with that. He also has wheat, hay, and orchard grass that we sell to mainly horse folks, and also use hay for our own cows and cattle. And then we have probably around 70 or 80 acres of pasture that we use for about 45 cows that we have. 00:01:02:04 - 00:01:10:20 Todd Gleason And what drove the decision for you to decide to put a woodchip bioreactor in? And when did you have this installed? 00:01:10:22 - 00:01:34:13 Todd VerHeecke So I guess for the last probably four, five years, I've been doing some cover crops, mainly putting over some turnips into the ground, into the ground to produce them in soybeans a year before. Some of those things where I'd seen the benefits, as far as, you know, erosion control and a little better yield increase on the corn the following year by using the cover crops. 00:01:34:15 - 00:01:56:27 Todd VerHeecke And I thought after doing that, doing some research on bioreactors and maybe wanting to, go maybe another step further with them was cover crops. So just kind of researching and then my farm bureau manager made the comment to me one day, knowing that I'd done the cover crops and we'd done some other things through my Farm Bureau as far as using the cover crops. 00:01:57:01 - 00:02:20:01 Todd VerHeecke And she said that, you know, they were looking for someone that would wanted to put in a bio reactor, would you maybe be interested. So kind of how the whole process started, they really started probably in October, November of 2016, just kind of with that conversation started out as far as if, you know, if you wanted one kind of what the the details were of the bioreactor, really. 00:02:20:01 - 00:02:28:13 Todd VerHeecke We got more involved that spring. And then actually it was actually installed on September of 2017 on the farm. 00:02:28:16 - 00:02:34:15 Todd Gleason So it was installed last year. Have you had to do any maintenance? I suspect not at this point. 00:02:34:17 - 00:02:44:24 Todd VerHeecke The only thing we have done, Dr. Laura Christianson through the University of Illinois, has, some monitoring, on this bioreactor there. 00:02:44:24 - 00:03:13:05 Todd VerHeecke I think today they actually were going to make some changes to some of the bolts in the actual structures to allow for a little more retention of the water through that bioreactor to maybe do a little more, as far as taking more of the nutrients out of the water and gases through, but otherwise pretty much other than, you know, doing some mowing around it and, and moving some of the boxes that they have for the monitoring structures, that's at this point, we've that's all we've done to the first year. 00:03:13:06 - 00:03:14:02 Todd VerHeecke So yeah. 00:03:14:02 - 00:03:33:19 Todd Gleason So essentially, yeah, the bioreactor has a weir, which the water over tops, if it's running very fast, and then runs straight out and does not go through the bioreactor. But they wanted to try to, to keep a little more out. So I assume they added some boards to it. And those are all part and parcel of the installation. 00:03:33:22 - 00:03:52:28 Todd Gleason Plastic boards that they can take in and out of, the weir and direct water one way or the other. It's really quite a neat operation, I think. Do you think you will be happy with it over time? And is there anything that you had to really overcome in order to have it installed, or since you've had it installed? 00:03:53:01 - 00:03:58:25 Todd VerHeecke You know, really, I think, you know, over time is definitely going to be, benefit. 00:03:58:27 - 00:04:16:07 Todd VerHeecke And once I get it, kind of maybe more fine tuned as far as kind of what the recommendations are from NRCS to get that, you know, maybe that sweet spot, I guess, as far as the nutrient removal from the water. I think there's going to be much to do. And like you say, it seems to be working pretty well right now. 00:04:16:09 - 00:04:38:27 Todd VerHeecke The only thing, I guess that really seems to be the hiccup and, you know, and it was it was something that a new, partnership you want to call out with Farm Bureau and myself, my county Farm bureau, the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association. And then also the NRCS trying to get everybody together, I think, and try to plan is so, you know, having a having all those groups together seemed to be a little struggle 00:04:38:27 - 00:04:49:00 Todd VerHeecke At some points in time. But we we worked through all that and finally get it done in September. So I think that was maybe the biggest hurdle, just to give everybody the talk and try to get everybody on the same page. 00:04:49:00 - 00:04:58:07 Todd Gleason So I suppose that does happen. Todd, as you work with many organizations to try to put in a demonstration plot, as you have with this woodchip bioreactor. 00:04:58:07 - 00:05:02:01 Todd Gleason Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about it. 00:05:02:03 - 00:05:02:20 Todd VerHeecke No problem. 00:05:02:20 - 00:05:15:05 Todd Gleason Todd VerHeecke is a farmer from Geneseo, Illinois. He has a wood chip bioreactor installed at the edge of the field to help control nitrogen runoff. I'm. University of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason.