Rice Farming

When Dane Hebert’s father first grew rice in southern Louisiana decades ago, he worked the ground in flooded fields—a practice known as “mudding” or water leveling—and drained the brown water three days later.

Nowadays, Dane Hebert holds the water on fields after leveling for two weeks before draining to allow sediments to settle out for improved water quality. The Maurice, La., producer also has installed drop pipes to prevent levee erosion and is trying a new herbicide-tolerant rice that would allow him to eliminate water leveling altogether.

Ernest Girouard, who farms west of Hebert in Kaplan, La., has taken a different approach to improving water quality and resource conservation. Girouard has installed a series of tail-water recovery systems that allow him to reduce or even eliminate groundwater pumping, depending on the field location.

By reducing his reliance on groundwater, the Kaplan producer is helping slow saltwater intrusion into the water table.

Like Hebert, Girouard has his fields sampled before planting to determine the soil mineral content and then only applies the nutrients that are needed.

Two different growers with two different approaches to resource conservation and improving water quality.
Yet they both have enrolled in Louisiana’s Master Farmer Program, a voluntary plan designed to help producers identify how they can improve on-farm conservation and water quality and then develop individual flexible plans that will allow them to do so

“Most of these practices we are already doing—the Master Farmer Program is just keeping us focused on what we should be doing,” says Hebert, who has completed the program’s first of four modules.

Voluntary, flexible route
Girouard, who also chairs the Vermilion Soil and Water Conservation District, says he hopes the Master Farmer Program—which provides a voluntary, flexible route for producers—will help stave off regulations aimed at agriculture

“They have been working closely with DEQ (Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality), and EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) knows of the Master Farmer Program and how we are trying to address these resource concerns,” Girouard says.

“We’re keeping track of the acres involved and showing them we have this many acres that BMPs (best management practices) are being used on and these are the practices we are participating in. So we are doing our share to clean up the streams.”

The Master Farmer Program
The Master Farmer Program was developed in response to a court-ordered decree. Several environmental groups sued the state of Louisiana for failing to meet the federal Clean Water Act and specifically the portion that pertains to TMDLs, or total maximum daily loads.

In response, a handful of agencies within the state worked to develop the Master Farmer Program, which they hope will help agriculture meet the TMDL requirements, says Dr. Fred Sanders, program chairman and LSU associate water quality professor.

Taking the lead is Louisiana State University’s AgCenter. Also involved are the Louisiana Farm Bureau, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The initial part of the program involves attending classes to learn about resource conservation challenges and what farmers can do on their individual operations to help.

During the first round, which was held in early 2002, 217 producers in the 11-parish Mermentau/Vermilion-Teche basins completed the eight-hour environmental stewardship class. Among the crops they represented were 86,303 acres of rice.

Developing a comprehensive conservation plan
Developing a comprehensive conservation plan is one of the few requirements of participants to successfully complete the Master Farmer Program courses.

Hebert has already had to develop comprehensive conservation plan on the tracts of land receiving cost-share funds through EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program). He says it’s not as cumbersome a task as it may sound.

He met with an NRCS conservationist who assisted him in identifying several BMPs he could economically implement on his farm. As part of the EQIP ranking process, Herbert chose to develop a comprehensive conservation plan. This increased his chances of being accepted into the cost-share program.

(This was based on the 1996 farm bill rules for EQIP. The 2002 farm bill changed that.)

Herbert is required to implement the BMPs in each year of his five-year contract. The BMPs include taking yearly soil samples and fertilizing based on the results. Hebert also must keep records of the soil analysis obtained from the soil samples. The Maurice, La., producer says these are practices he would be following regardless of the conservation plan because they make economic and environmental sense.

One size does not fit all
But a BMP that may work well on Hebert’s operation may not be the best fit on his neighbor’s farm, Walcott says.

“That’s why we want to keep the BMPs voluntary because it’s not one size fits all,” he says. “You have to have that flexibility in terms of which ones fit your operation.”

And Hebert isn’t content to stop with his current conservation practices. He’s already considering laser leveling his land to make more efficient use of irrigation water.

He points to the recently passed farm bill, which contains $4.6 billion for EQIP funding and will provide up to 75 percent cost-share funding for conservation projects such as his.

Despite what he sees as the benefits of conservation and the Master Farmer Program, Hebert remains concerned about overall low market prices and whether he’ll be able to continue farming.

“If the commodity program doesn’t give us the economics we need to survive on the farm, these conservation practices are a moot point.”

In addition to the conservation portion, the Master Farmer Program also contains a marketing and economics component. LSU’s Sanders says including the financial side is necessary because growers will have to consider the economics of each BMP they choose.

“It’s a management decision. You can’t address environmental concerns without taking economics and production into consideration,” Sanders says.

The Clean Water Act

TMDLs or total maximum daily loads: A kind of pollution budget that will be developed for each “impaired” water body. It includes the maximum amount of both nonpoint-source and source pollutants that can be discharged into a water body without violating state water quality standards. It must include a margin of safety and also account for natural sources.

The targeted pollutants also vary among water bodies and even among sections of the impaired body.

Point-source pollution: Pollution originating from a stationary site or fixed source, such as a factory, a confined animal feeding operation or a wastewater plant effluent discharge pipe.

Nonpoint-source pollution: Pollution sources that are diffuse or don’t have just one origin point, such as runoff from residential yards, highways or farm fields.

303 (d) list: A nationwide list containing more than 20,000 water bodies state agencies have identified as “impaired,” meaning they don’t meet state water quality standards even with point-source pollution-control measures in place. The Clean Water Act requires the states to develop priority rankings for each water body, based on its use, and then develop appropriate TMDLs based on those rankings.

A stream that is categorized as only aquatic life support, for example, may be allowed higher pollution levels than a stream intended for public drinking water supply or even primary contact recreation. Primary contact recreation includes activities such as swimming.

Clean Water Act of 1972: A national law governing water pollution. Until recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its state counterparts focused on point-source pollution. So far, environmental groups have brought at least 40 different lawsuits in 38 states—including Louisiana—seeking enforcement of TMDLs. The EPA is under court order or consent decree in many states to develop TMDLs.

EPA’s Region 6 is under court order to establish 1,711 TMDLs for 349 Louisiana water bodies by 2007. Under an agreement, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will have the primary responsibility for developing the TMDLs. If it cannot meet the deadlines, EPA will step in to develop the TMDLs.

Louisiana’s Master Farmer Program at a glance

TheMaster Farmer Program consists of four parts:

Master Farmers Louisiana program takes voluntary approach to water quality improvement money
By Vicky Boyd Editor
When Dane Hebert’s father first grew rice in southern Louisiana decades ago, he worked the ground in flooded fields—a practice known as “mudding” or water leveling—and drained the brown water three days later. Nowadays, Dane Hebert holds the water on fields after leveling for two weeks before draining to allow sediments to settle out for improved water quality. The Maurice, La., producer also has installed drop pipes to prevent levee erosion and is trying a new herbicide-tolerant rice that would allow him to eliminate water leveling altogether. Ernest Girouard, who farms west of Hebert in Kaplan, La., has taken a different approach to improving water quality and resource conservation. Girouard has installed a series of tail-water recovery systems that allow him to reduce or even eliminate groundwater pumping, depending on the field location. By reducing his reliance on groundwater, the Kaplan producer is helping slow saltwater intrusion into the water table. Like Hebert, Girouard has his fields sampled before planting to determine the soil mineral content and then only applies the nutrients that are needed. Two different growers with two different approaches to resource conservation and improving water quality. Yet they both have enrolled in Louisiana’s Master Farmer Program, a voluntary plan designed to help producers identify how they can improve on-farm conservation and water quality and then develop individual flexible plans that will allow them to do so “Most of these practices we are already doing—the Master Farmer Program is just keeping us focused on what we should be doing,” says Hebert, who has completed the program’s first of four modules. Voluntary, flexible route Girouard, who also chairs the Vermilion Soil and Water Conservation District, says he hopes the Master Farmer Program—which provides a voluntary, flexible route for producers—will help stave off regulations aimed at agriculture “They have been working closely with DEQ (Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality), and EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) knows of the Master Farmer Program and how we are trying to address these resource concerns,” Girouard says. “We’re keeping track of the acres involved and showing them we have this many acres that BMPs (best management practices) are being used on and these are the practices we are participating in. So we are doing our share to clean up the streams.” The Master Farmer Program The Master Farmer Program was developed in response to a court-ordered decree. Several environmental groups sued the state of Louisiana for failing to meet the federal Clean Water Act and specifically the portion that pertains to TMDLs, or total maximum daily loads. In response, a handful of agencies within the state worked to develop the Master Farmer Program, which they hope will help agriculture meet the TMDL requirements, says Dr. Fred Sanders, program chairman and LSU associate water quality professor. Taking the lead is Louisiana State University’s AgCenter. Also involved are the Louisiana Farm Bureau, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The initial part of the program involves attending classes to learn about resource conservation challenges and what farmers can do on their individual operations to help. During the first round, which was held in early 2002, 217 producers in the 11-parish Mermentau/Vermilion-Teche basins completed the eight-hour environmental stewardship class. Among the crops they represented were 86,303 acres of rice. Developing a comprehensive conservation plan Developing a comprehensive conservation plan is one of the few requirements of participants to successfully complete the Master Farmer Program courses. Hebert has already had to develop comprehensive conservation plan on the tracts of land receiving cost-share funds through EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program). He says it’s not as cumbersome a task as it may sound. He met with an NRCS conservationist who assisted him in identifying several BMPs he could economically implement on his farm. As part of the EQIP ranking process, Herbert chose to develop a comprehensive conservation plan. This increased his chances of being accepted into the cost-share program. (This was based on the 1996 farm bill rules for EQIP. The 2002 farm bill changed that.) Herbert is required to implement the BMPs in each year of his five-year contract. The BMPs include taking yearly soil samples and fertilizing based on the results. Hebert also must keep records of the soil analysis obtained from the soil samples. The Maurice, La., producer says these are practices he would be following regardless of the conservation plan because they make economic and environmental sense. One size does not fit all But a BMP that may work well on Hebert’s operation may not be the best fit on his neighbor’s farm, Walcott says. “That’s why we want to keep the BMPs voluntary because it’s not one size fits all,” he says. “You have to have that flexibility in terms of which ones fit your operation.” And Hebert isn’t content to stop with his current conservation practices. He’s already considering laser leveling his land to make more efficient use of irrigation water. He points to the recently passed farm bill, which contains $4.6 billion for EQIP funding and will provide up to 75 percent cost-share funding for conservation projects such as his. Despite what he sees as the benefits of conservation and the Master Farmer Program, Hebert remains concerned about overall low market prices and whether he’ll be able to continue farming. “If the commodity program doesn’t give us the economics we need to survive on the farm, these conservation practices are a moot point.” In addition to the conservation portion, the Master Farmer Program also contains a marketing and economics component. LSU’s Sanders says including the financial side is necessary because growers will have to consider the economics of each BMP they choose. “It’s a management decision. You can’t address environmental concerns without taking economics and production into consideration,” Sanders says. The Clean Water Act TMDLs or total maximum daily loads: A kind of pollution budget that will be developed for each “impaired” water body. It includes the maximum amount of both nonpoint-source and source pollutants that can be discharged into a water body without violating state water quality standards. It must include a margin of safety and also account for natural sources. The targeted pollutants also vary among water bodies and even among sections of the impaired body. Point-source pollution: Pollution originating from a stationary site or fixed source, such as a factory, a confined animal feeding operation or a wastewater plant effluent discharge pipe. Nonpoint-source pollution: Pollution sources that are diffuse or don’t have just one origin point, such as runoff from residential yards, highways or farm fields. 303 (d) list: A nationwide list containing more than 20,000 water bodies state agencies have identified as “impaired,” meaning they don’t meet state water quality standards even with point-source pollution-control measures in place. The Clean Water Act requires the states to develop priority rankings for each water body, based on its use, and then develop appropriate TMDLs based on those rankings. A stream that is categorized as only aquatic life support, for example, may be allowed higher pollution levels than a stream intended for public drinking water supply or even primary contact recreation. Primary contact recreation includes activities such as swimming. Clean Water Act of 1972: A national law governing water pollution. Until recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its state counterparts focused on point-source pollution. So far, environmental groups have brought at least 40 different lawsuits in 38 states—including Louisiana—seeking enforcement of TMDLs. The EPA is under court order or consent decree in many states to develop TMDLs. EPA’s Region 6 is under court order to establish 1,711 TMDLs for 349 Louisiana water bodies by 2007. Under an agreement, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will have the primary responsibility for developing the TMDLs. If it cannot meet the deadlines, EPA will step in to develop the TMDLs. Louisiana’s Master Farmer Program at a glance TheMaster Farmer Program consists of four parts: Environmental education and commodity-specific BMPs, or best management practices. Environmental stewardship, which includes in-the-field viewing of implemented BMPs on model or demonstration farms. The model farms will not only give farmers an up-close look at what can be done on a large scale, but they’ll also give researchers an opportunity to quantify how the different practices are working, says Maurice Walcott, a Louisiana State University Extension associate with the Master Farmer Program. Developing and implementing farm-specific, comprehensive conservation plans developed by the master farmer participant in conjunction with the local Natural Resource Conservation Service conservationist. This will include selecting and implementing farm-specific BMPs. Agricultural BMPs focus on five main areas: nutrient management, pesticide management, soil and water management, pasture management and general farm BMPs. Production and farm management/marketing. After completing all four segments over a three-year period, the participants receive certification. Much like a private applicator’s license, they must obtain four hours of continuing education credit annually to maintain their certification. The program is being phased in over the state, having started in the Mermentau/Vermilion-Teche basins in 2001 and finishing up in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya/Pearl basins in 2006. Other states, which aren’t under quite as tight a time frame to meet TMDL requirements, are already borrowing parts of Louisiana’s approach, Walcott says. Internet Hotlink http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/Subjects/masterfarmer/about.asp Contact Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.
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