Regenerative Agriculture: The Freshwater Focus in Indiana

Speakers: Danielle Randles and Sarah Reilly, The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to protecting Indiana’s water future. As part of that commitment, TNC is working with partners and farmers to improve and protect the White River. Sarah and Danielle will share about soil health, drainage, and the extensive impact water quality improvement can have in Indiana, the Mississippi River, and beyond.

Sarah Reilly joined TNC in early 2023 as the White River Project Director. In her role, Sarah coordinates TNC’s water quality improvement work in the West and East Fork White River basins in Central Indiana with our partners, which include federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private companies and other nonprofits.

Danielle Randles joined TNC in June 2024 as the Regenerative Agriculture Manager. In her role, Danielle is creating a regenerative agriculture demonstration network across Central Indiana. This network will feature 5 farms showcasing edge-of-field practices to be used for educating various stakeholders on these conservation practices.

Sponsored by Chris Moore

Program: Live and Zoom: Regenerative Agriculture: The Freshwater Focus in Indiana

Speakers: Danielle Randles and Sarah Reilly, The Nature Conservancy

Introduced By: Chris Moore

Attendance: NESC:80; Zoom: 31

Guest(s): Christy Jacobi

Scribe: Alan Schmidt

Editor: Ed Nitka

View a Zoom recording of this talk at: https://www.scientechclubvideos.org/zoom/04282025.mp4

Sarah Reilly joined TNC in early 2023 as the White River Project Director. In her role, Sarah coordinates TNC’s water quality improvement work in the West and East Fork White River basins in Central Indiana with our partners, which include federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private companies and other nonprofits. Sarah.reilly@tnc.org

Danielle Randles joined TNC in June 2024 as the Regenerative Agriculture Manager. In her role, Danielle is creating a regenerative agriculture demonstration network across Central Indiana. This network will feature 5 farms showcasing edge-of-field practices to be used for educating various stakeholders on these conservation practices.  Danielle.randles@tnc.org

The mission of regenerative agriculture is to conserve the land and water on which all life depends.  Regenerative food systems actively restore habitat and protect biodiversity in and around production areas, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and preserve the livelihood of the farmers, fishers, ranchers, and others who work to provide our food, now and in the long run.  The Nature Conservancy 2030 goal is to have healthy lakes, wetlands, and rivers.  They work with evidence-based science.  The Nature Conservancy guides work for regenerative food systems.  We don’t have the water scarcity problems of the southwest US, but rather good, resilient flow, healthy water, and thriving habitats. They focus on the Wabash and White River watersheds.  Those watersheds have 1 to 7% of the US water flow, but 11 to 17% of the nutrients.  Excess nutrients cause oxygen deprived zones at the outlet of the Mississippi River, termed hypoxia zones.

Their organization provides 70% of the money for farmers for conservation practices in a cost sharing to the farmer’s 30% for outreach demonstration projects.  The exchange will fund conservation minded farmers across central Indiana, so people can come and see in-field conservation.  Full funding can be $1,000 to $10,000 per field.  Automated drainage water and saturated buffers are forms of water management.  A saturated buffer is an edge-of-field conservation practice that removes nitrate from subsurface tile drainage waters.  When properly sited and installed, a saturated buffer will remove nitrates whenever the tile is flowing and requires little annual maintenance to ensure effective operation. 

Bioreactors remove nitrates from subsurface tile drainage before it enters ditches and streams.  There are organisms in the woodchips filling the 20’ by 100’ denitrifying bioreactor, and they last about 20 years before replacement is required., The material can be spread on the field or trashed.   The staff is overworked, but are helped some with private donors funding in-field practices for salaries, supplies, demonstrations, and professional development.  To prevent erosion the living active roots of cover crops, no-till, nutrient management, and grassy borders along waterways help.  The aim is to keep nutrients in the field where they are needed using edge of field practices and denitrifying reactors. 

The Purdue University extension educates around agricultural practices.  The Muncie Bureau of Water Quality treats water before going to the river to achieve clean water.  Fish electrical shocking is a means to measure water quality, with seeing fish in the sample that are sensitive to pollution as a good sign.  Fish recover from the shock.  Mussels filter contaminants out of the water.  In the 1800s a person would step on a mussel each step across the White River, but now a person often doesn’t see one.  The land, water, community 2023 report card for the White River had a water score of C for the White River, B on education, and F on wetlands changes.

Together we can find a way.  People can sign up for a Nature Conservancy newsletter at Nature.org.  We depend on nature every day to support our way of life. That’s why protecting it is common sense.  Amazon Prime has a good conservation program video labelled Common Ground. 

    Sarah Reilly and Danielle Randles