Justin Hanson

Fields, Rivers & Streams

Justin Hanson is the district manager of the Mower Soil & Water Conservation District and the administrator of the Cedar River Watershed District

Conservation in Minnesota got a major boost last week when officials announced a $350 million, landmark program for natural resource improvement.

And the timing couldn’t be better for local farmers.

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is arguably the nation’s most robust and effective conservation program for long-term water treatment and establishment of wildlife habitat. CREP is a voluntary program offering landowners higher payments to permanently protecting cropland from ever being farmed again.

This is the third CREP round offered in Minnesota, and only southeast Minnesota’s second program. Under the new initiative, Minnesota will use CREP over the next several years to permanently protect 60,000 new acres. This will be an attractive option locally and statewide for landowners looking for attractive conservation program rates to carve out habitat opportunities on their farm.

Born out of the 1980s agriculture crisis, CREP in Minnesota was created through the marriage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the state’s Reinvest In Minnesota (RIM) program. Both programs have evolved over the years into forces that create exponential effects on water quality and wildlife habitat.

 

 

CREP also will be a vital tool for Mower SWCD to assist landowners under the new state buffer law in adding required vegetative buffers to the roughly five percent of farmland along public waterways needing that in Mower County.

Later this year — Nov. 1 — will be the state’s first deadline for full compliance on buffers along public waterways (at least 30 feet of buffer and an overall average of 50 feet). If landowners have not taken steps by this fall to address buffer needs, they will be out of compliance with the state. This could affect their eligibility for future conservation and federal farm programs.

The good news is that there are options and plenty of help available.

On Friday, Mower SWCD will send notification letters to landowners who have land appearing to need more buffers based on extensive mapping we have done for Mower County since the buffer law’s passage.

For the past two years, buffer compliance has been a big part of our agricultural, environmental and legislative discussions. The ag community came out with strong concerns (many of which I shared), and their voice was heard by legislators who adjusted the law. Environmental advocates also lobbied to ensure the law did not become ineffective. I believe we all benefited from this discussion and it created a better law.

Now is the time to move forward. The buffer law is here to stay.

Mower SWCD wants to work with every Mower County landowner who needs more buffers. We have adjusted our programs to make staff more available for assisting landowners with compliance.

Mower County’s Board of Commissioners also committed resources to Mower SWCD to ensure landowners seeking buffer help can get it from our office before the Nov. 1 deadline. Our staff can provide technical assistance for measuring, staking, seeding and layout designing for buffers. We also now have a suite of programs to help landowners offset the loss of productive cropland.

In recent months, Mower SWCD and local USDA staff have worked feverishly to handle the workload for CRP, a program typically involving conservation easements of 10 to 15 years. Since the buffer issue emerged, Mower County landowners have enrolled more than 4,000 acres into CRP — an incredible number and significant workload for local staff.

We’re in a unique time right now in that the federal government is offering a premium on CRP rental rates at a time when the ag economy has dipped and the state is coming out with buffer-strip requirements. CRP rates eventually will adjust to the current market but we won’t know that timing.

Many in the ag community are taking advantage of CRP but more cooperation is needed to achieve 100 percent buffer compliance in Mower County.

CREP is just being rolled out, and Mower SWCD will share its details as they are provided to us. In the short term, however, our staff is excited about what CREP will mean for state buffer compliance as well as conservation overall locally and statewide.

For those who receive a buffer letter from Mower SWCD, we strongly encourage you to start addressing it immediately. You do not want your land to fall out of compliance, causing a limitation of programs available to you.

Please allow Mower SWCD and USDA staff help make buffer compliance less painful for you. Make an appointment with Mower SWCD’s buffer coordinator Aaron Gamm at 507-434-2603 or aaron.gamm@mowerswcd.org.
Mower SWCD provides technical assistance to landowners with conservation practices that protect land and water resources. SWCD also administers the Cedar River Watershed District to improve water quality and reduce flooding. This column runs monthly on the last Thursday. For more, visit the Mower SWCD and CRWD websites and Facebook pages. Comments can be sent to tim.ruzek@mowerswcd.org.