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Looking Back - 2018 Best Management Practices Leveraged funds in 2018
Cover crops - 13 projects (3,217 acres of cover crops)
Grass waterways - 5 projects (approximately 10.6 acres)
Federal funding $2 million (CRP, EQIP, CSP) State funding
$767,600
Field structures - 11 projects Windbreaks - 6 projects
CRP - 382 acres enrolled
State Ag BMP loans $270,000 (5 contracts) TOTAL: $3.04 million
Permanent conservation program gaining interest in Mower Mower County landowners gained more incentive in 2018 to enroll farmland into permanent conservation through MN CREP as the state increased payment rates. Average payment rates for MN CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) in Mower County now have increased from $6,500 per acre to more than $7,500 per acre, with the
potential for an even higher payment for a landowner. In late 2018, Mower SWCD finalized its first MN CREP easement, involving 75 acres in Red Rock Township with plans for a 2019 restoration. “If you own marginal farmland or land that floods frequently, CREP is a great solution,” Mower SWCD watershed technician James Fett said.
MN CREP officially opened in 2017 as a voluntary statefederal program for landowners seeking to protect their environmentally sensitive cropland. It is designed to improve water quality and habitat conservation. Mower County is one of 54 counties in southern and western Minnesota selected for this round of CREP.
SWCD, groups partner to buy no-till drill Local conservation groups in 2018 helped get more prairie, wildflowers and vegetative buffers planted in Mower County thanks to their financial support. Mower SWCD purchased a no-tillage drill in early 2018 to provide a convenient and feasible option for landowners in the county to rent once the spring planting season began as part of an effort to support clean water and habitat development. Groups that donated money toward the drill’s purchase included Friends of the Jay C. Hormel Nature; Pheasants Forever of Mower County; Audubon Austin Chapter; and the Austin chapter of the Izaak Walton League. Mower SWCD also gave funding. “This drill provides local landowners with
a low-cost option to plant prairie, cover crops, pasture and more,” said Justin Hanson, Mower SWCD district manager. “Without the groups’ support, we couldn’t have bought this much-needed equipment.” Landowners rented the drill for planting vegetative buffer strips along public waterways; Conservation Reserve Program (CRP); and wildflower plantings. Due to 2018’s late spring, Mower SWCD became busy with delivering the drill during planting season and was not able to get it to everyone in time. A new drill also led to increased landowner interest. No-till aims to leave soil undisturbed as much as possible during the entire by avoiding any primary or secondary tillage practic-
Mower SWCD’s no-till drill purchased in early 2018.
es, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. Most no-till planters have residue managers, finger coulters and doubledisk openers that move some residue from the row and improve seed-to-soil contact.