At Pay Dirt, we intentionally bring together two groups that don’t always share the same room: farmers and stormwater professionals. On the surface, they may approach water from different angles, but they are working on the same challenge.
Water moves across the landscape without recognizing property lines, job titles, or industries. It flows from farm fields through ditches, into streams through towns, and eventually into our rivers and lakes. Water doesn’t care where it starts, but we do.
That’s why creating an atmosphere where agriculture, engineers, contractors, planners, and stormwater professionals can learn from one another is so important. Farmers bring generations of experience managing soil, rainfall, and crop systems. Stormwater professionals bring design tools, infrastructure knowledge, and regulatory understanding. When those perspectives mix, better solutions emerge.
At events like Pay Dirt, the conversations that happen over coffee, during panels, or even while sharing a local beer often lead to the most breakthroughs and connections. A contractor may hear a farmer describe how cover crops improve infiltration. An engineer may see how soil health can reduce runoff before it ever reaches a pipe or pond.
Farmers may learn how urban stormwater systems interact with the same watershed they farm in.
That exchange of ideas builds something bigger than anyone’s practice or project; it builds shared stewardship.
Healthy soil, smart stormwater management, and strong communities all lead to the same outcome: cleaner water and a better quality of life for everyone in Elkhart County.
Because while water may not care where it flows…we care deeply about where it ends up.