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Mower County has posted its record-high for acres – about 407 – signed up in one year for converting marginal cropland and floodplain to permanently restored native prairie and wetlands.

About 300 acres have been tentatively approved (easements pending) through MN CREP, a federal-state program, for prairie and wetland restoration likely in 2025 in Lansing and Udolpho townships north of Austin. About 139 acres of that are along the Cedar River State Water Trail near Austin and its tributary Wolf Creek, upstream from Austin’s Todd Park, where the state stocks the stream each spring for rainbow trout.

Under the state’s Reinvest In Minnesota (RIM) program, another 107 acres have been approved tentatively for prairie/wetland restoration likely in 2025, with about 70 acres in Udolpho Township (northwest corner of Mower County) and 37 acres in eastern Mower in Pleasant Valley and LeRoy townships.

Mower’s previous record was in 2006 when 351 acres were signed up for permanent-conservation easements.

“This has been a busy but exciting year for getting permanent conservation in the county,” said James Fett, a Mower Soil & Water Conservation District technician who oversees MN CREP and RIM signups in Mower County. “When established, these MN CREP and RIM restorations improve water quality and wildlife habitat.”

In addition to the future restorations, Mower SWCD oversaw two MN CREP restorations this summer, including nearly 78 acres of cropland highly prone to flooding in Lyle Township along the Cedar River. This area is between the state’s 72-acre Red Cedar River Wildlife Management Area and about another 50 acres of private land enrolled in a permanent conservation easement. The other was 57 acres in Udolpho Township.

Since 2017 when MN CREP was launched, Mower County now has had about 1,047 acres – about 1.6 square miles – either permanently restored or under tentative approval for restoration.

With the tentative plans to restore native prairie next year along Wolf Creek, those acres would create a nearly 328-acre corridor along Wolf Creek with permanently restored native prairie and wetlands.

MN CREP combines the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with the state RIM program. Landowners accepted into MN CREP enroll in CRP for 14 to 15 years. At the same time, the land is put into a permanent-conservation RIM easement.

Payment rates via MN CREP vary based on the cropland’s location in the county, Fett said, and is determined by each township’s average assessed tillable cropland value per acre.

Mower SWCD encourages farmers and landowners to visit with them to learn about the potential opportunities for their land. Cropland already enrolled in federal CRP can qualify for permanent conservation under RIM, Fett said.

Earlier this year, most qualifying lands in Mower County increased by more than $2,000 per acre through RIM and MN CREP. Overall, payments now are about $9,000 to $11,000 per acre for RIM and $12,000 to $14,000 per acre for MN CREP.

“Landowners with cropland that floods regularly, doesn’t produce good crop yields or has challenges with soil erosion, we likely have a program that fits your land and will pay you well,” Fett said.

Under RIM, more types of cropland now can qualify due to recent changes, Fett said, with multiple, active RIM programs in addition to MN CREP.

For MN CREP, there were only two application periods in 2024 due to the potential of a new federal Farm Bill being passed by the U.S. Congress, Fett said.

Although there is not another application period open yet, Fett said, the possibility looks good for one in 2025 if the Farm Bill passes. Even if MN CREP doesn’t open again, he added, the RIM program likely still would be an option.

Mower County landowners interested in MN CREP or RIM should contact Fett at james@mowerdistrict.org or 507-460-4592.