ADRIAN — Allegra Baird joined the Lenawee Conservation District office earlier this spring to support Lenawee County farmers. She comes to the conservation district with a background in ecosystem science and management. 

Baird studied at the University of Michigan, earning her bachelor’s degree in 2021 before going on to obtain a master’s degree from the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability in 2023. She lives near Milan.

Her role as a conservation specialist will specifically focus on furthering the adoption of conservation practices that will keep soil and nutrients on farm fields and out of waterways. For example, loose soil and excess nutrients that leave our farm fields via wind and rain transport eventually make their way to Lake Erie, which continues to suffer from harmful algal blooms every summer. This problem can be reduced through the incorporation of farming practices that build soil structure and minimize nutrient losses. Using a nutrient management plan to determine how farms can reduce nutrient inputs  while maintaining crop yields cuts costs for farmers and lowers the potential for nutrient loss into waterways.

Baird’s role at the Lenawee Conservation District will be to connect farmers with the information, funding resources, and technical assistance they need to successfully implement conservation practices that make sense to each individual farmer.

She is also assuming responsibility for the coordination of the Cover Crops Fly-On service in partnership with Scott’s Cover Crops LLC, and the Tile Monitoring Project in partnership with the Institute for Water Research. Both opportunities are available for all farmers in Lenawee County to take advantage of. Baird can be reached at [email protected].