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Wisconsin to start aerial bedrock survey January 11th

Farmers in northeast Wisconsin will soon see a low-flying helicopter over selected croplands, but state ag officials say they should not be concerned. 

Leeann Duwe with the Department of Ag, Trade, and Consumer Protection tells Brownfield they are working with the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey “to map the depth to bedrock in the northeastern part of the state to measure how deep that bedrock is and that lets us know, it’s important to know that to understand how to better protect groundwater in that area.”

Duwe says the data gathered will be available to the public and will help farmers with nutrient management planning and help prevent nutrients from contaminating groundwater.

John Holevoet with the Dairy Business Association tells Brownfield the additional data will help farmers. “In the last few years, there’s been increased attention to that portion of the state. We’ve seen some new target performance standards (that are) just a few years old for that portion of the state, at least in part, so to the extent that this can be a helpful tool for farmers to have better data and for their agronomists to have better data, that’s probably a step in the right direction.”

Duwe says the helicopter will fly between 100 and 200 feet above the ground in a half-mile grid pattern while avoiding buildings and people using electromagnetic measurement equipment to create high- and low-resolution images.  She says the survey will begin between southern Door County and northeastern Sheboygan County on January 11th, weather permitting.

Duwe says DATCP is trying to secure additional funding for more bedrock mapping.

Leeann Dewe from Wisconsin’s Department of Ag, Trade, and Consumer Protection discusses the upcoming bedrock survey with Brownfield’s Larry Lee

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