Sustainable Conservation - Conservation Highlights

Conservation Highlights

Central Valley Farmers Cultivate Clean Water

When it comes to helping California farmers promote a healthy planet in ways that make good business sense, Sustainable Conservation has never shied away from rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty.

We’re at it again.

Got (Clean) Water?

Through a unique program over the last two years, Sustainable Conservation worked hand-in-hand with a growing number of Central Valley dairy farmers like Melvin Medeiros – whom you’ll read about below – to implement novel methods for managing manure that ensure tasty milk is synonymous with clean water.

Together, we’re keeping almost 400 million pounds of cow manure a year out of waterways – nearly double the waste produced by San Francisco’s human population. Dairy farmers are using this valuable manure to fertilize the crops they feed their cows – rather than using petroleum-based fertilizer. And, by using reclaimed liquid manure to irrigate crops, our farming partners conserve nearly 9 million gallons of limited fresh water each year.

These gains are news enough to celebrate, but our results extend beyond the water faucet. Our work saves Melvin and other dairy farmers thousands of dollars in fertilizer and feed costs each year, and helps them meet clean water standards.

Farmer Spotlight – Melvin Mederios, Fresno, CA

For California dairy producers like Melvin Medeiros, farming isn’t just a job ... it’s a way of life.

“My passion is making the best milk there is,” he explained during a recent visit to his 300-acre farm outside Fresno. “And, because my family lives off this land and we drink the water that’s beneath it, we want to farm in the healthiest way possible.”

Going with the Flow

Thanks to Sustainable Conservation’s Dairy Water Quality Grant Program, Central Valley dairy farmer Melvin Medeiros now uses nutrient-rich manure water from his Holsteins to irrigate corn he feeds his happy cows.

Since 2008, Sustainable Conservation worked with Melvin on innovative ways to manage manure from his 1,300 Holsteins to benefit clean water – as well as his bottom line.

Sustainable Conservation’s Dairy Water Quality Grant Program (funded by the California Water Quality Control Board) enabled Melvin to extend his novel underground piping system (pictured below) that pumps nutrient-rich manure water from his herd to irrigate 200 acres of corn he feeds to his cows. Previously, Melvin relied on synthetic fertilizers made using fossil fuels, which can pollute water sources and even deplete beneficial nutrients in soil.

The more manure he’s able to distribute and the more his crops can take up, the less there is to potentially contaminate water on and off his farm. By using wastewater from his dairy, Melvin also pumps less groundwater to irrigate his crops. This is good news for California, as the state faces another potential drought year.

Besides the water quality benefits, supplying his crops with cow manure instead of chemical fertilizers saves Melvin $15,000 annually.

Melvin Medeiros’s new wastewater system keeps water on and off his farm clean, reduces the use of chemical fertilizers and cuts costs.

“Melvin is ahead of the curve and delivers a powerful message to other producers,” said Sustainable Conservation Project Manager Joe Choperena. “He’s a great example of how leveraging the benefits of a resource like manure is helping farmers across California protect clean water and healthy communities, as well as promote an important industry like dairy farming.”

What does Melvin think of farming in ways that protect the environment and his business? “It’s in my blood.”

Clean Water Across California

Through our Dairy Water Quality Grant Program, Sustainable Conservation partnered with dozens of Central Valley dairy farmers like Melvin Medeiros to implement technologies that effectively manage dairy waste. Our partnerships not only benefit clean water, but promote healthy communities and strengthen a vital California industry.

Each year, the projects funded under Sustainable Conservation’s grant program ...

Prevent nearly 400 million pounds of manure – and almost 4 million pounds of nitrogen –from polluting water sources. That’s equivalent to the waste produced by 1.4 million people and enough nitrogen to grow nearly 15,000 acres of corn – roughly 10% of the total acreage in California dedicated to growing corn for people.

Save California dairy farmers tens of thousands of dollars in fertilizer costs. Utilizing manure instead of commercial fertilizers, which are made using fossil fuels, also lowers farmers’ carbon footprints.

Conserve nearly 9 million gallons of fresh water. Irrigating crops with liquid manure saves as much limited fresh water as is used by about 100, three-person families each year.