Chuck Ripp

“I see benefits of being part of Yahara Pride Farms,” says Chuck Ripp, who has served on the YPF board since its beginnings. “We’re conserving more water and keeping it clean.”

The farmers who formed Yahara Pride Farms more than a decade ago had the same interests and started working together to prevent runoff, particularly phosphorus, from their farms. Cost-share funding helped them try conservation practices and determine whether the practices would also be economically feasible, he says.

With the funding, Chuck and his brothers – Gary and Troy Ripp – experimented with cover crops on their corn acreage. They tried aerial seeding first without much success. But after using a no-till drill they were happy with the results. They’ve continued to use a no-till drill to plant barley and cereal ryegrass, which help prevent runoff, Chuck says.

The cereal rye also is used to feed their heifers and dry cows. While the barley dies over the winter it still provides enough biomass to help reduce runoff, he adds.

“I’ve seen cover crops improve our soil,” he says. “They provide a good root system and I’m happy with how the crops have done.”

He adds that the cover crops have improved water infiltration and reduced soil compaction.

“Even without the Cost-Share Program, we’d still probably plant cover crops,” he says.

The Ripp brothers own and operate Ripp’s Dairy Valley, a third-generation farm near Dane. They manage more than 1,800 head of cattle and farm 1,600 acres. They also have an agreement with a neighboring farmer – buying feed from the neighbor and applying manure to his fields.

Their cropping program consists of alfalfa for hay as well as corn for silage and grain. They also plant about 80 acres with wheat.

The Ripps have reduced the amount of conventional tillage on their farm in the past decade. They experimented with no-till but found that alfalfa ground needed to be tilled so they now practice minimum tillage after wheat before planting alfalfa.

Manure from their farm is supplied to Brightmark Energy, a dairy-biogas project. The plant converts into biogas about 90,000 gallons of manure per day from Ripp’s Dairy Valley as well as Endres Dairy in Dane; and White Gold Dairy in Waunakee. The plant captures methane and phosphorus from the manure, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Liquid manure from the biogas plant also enables the farms to reduce the amount of phosphorus in the manure they apply. The Ripps use a low-disturbance manure injector to reduce nutrient runoff. They also work with Jackie Ripp Wheeler, an agronomist, on nutrient management plans.

According to the Yahara WINS annual report for 2023, YPF members helped prevent 54,541 pounds of phosphorus from entering water bodies in the Yahara Watershed. That exceeded the organization’s goal of 47,862 pounds of phosphorus.

Of Yahara Pride Farm’s efforts, Chuck says, “We’re showing our community that we’re interested in keeping it safe and that we’re doing things right for the next generation.”