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MN Dept. of Ag, USDA-NRCS offering funds for no-till, strip till

Mower County farmers interested in doing no-till, strip tillage or cover crops on their land have offerings at the state and federal level that are accepting applications in the next month.

On Aug. 1, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Soil Health Financial Assistance Program will begin accepting grant applications for purchasing or retrofitting soil-health equipment. This is open to individual producers, producer groups and tribal and local governments.

Applications must be submitted by Aug. 30 and are online at: www.mda.state.mn.us/soilhealthgrant; MDA will announce awards on Jan. 1.           

Applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) must be submitted by Sept. 6 for cost-share in 2025 on soil-health practices, including no-till, strip till, cover crops and reduced tillage. Cost-share payments are paid per acre through contracts that can run for up to five years.

EQIP cost-share rates for 2025 likely will be known later this fall, with applications approved by early 2025.

“If you are considering strip till, no-till or cover crops, this is an unprecedented time to take advantage of climate-smart practices to improve your operation,” said Cody Fox, district manager for Mower Soil & Water Conservation District in Austin. “Our staff is eager to have conversations with interested farmers and landowners.”

This farm season, EQIP rates are paying about $28 per acre for no till and strip till; $33 per acre for single-species cover crops; and $42 per acre for multi-species cover crops.

For more on EQIP, farmers can visit with NRCS staff in Mower County’s USDA Service Center in Austin, 1408 21st Ave. N.W.

Under the MDA program, grant awards provide up to 50 percent cost-share, with a minimum award of $500 and a maximum award of $45,000. In 2024, the state Legislature appropriated nearly $2.4 million for grants statewide with another $495,000 for grants in Mower, Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona counties in southeast Minnesota.

“Specialized, expensive equipment can be too much of a barrier for farmers who are interested in making tillage changes,” Fox said. “Multiple programs exist now that really can be the difference to assist farmers in making that next step.”

Under this MDA program, grants can be used for new or used equipment that includes no-till drills, air seeders, strip-tillage units and other types of farm machinery.