Agriculture comprises a significant portion of the state's land use, and the way farmers manage their land can make a big contribution to achieving state goals for resource conservation. The activities described below are designed to give farmers and ranchers information to help them do their part in protecting the quality of Minnesota's water resources.
 |
|
|
Pie chart showing the percentage of MDA's 2012-2013
Clean Water funding spent on different activities |
This page contains a description of MDA's Clean Water Fund activities. For more information, photos and reports, please follow links to individual project webpages.
$4.5 million for 2010-2011
$9.0 million for 2012-2013
Quick Status Update: as of 5/1/2012
- $13.5 million has been appropriated to the program
- $8.6 million is under executed contracts and awards
- The AgBMP Loan Program has issued 210 loans
- Total amount of loan issued: $3.8 million
- Total funds leveraged: $2.9 million
- $4.0 million is reserved for Calender Year 2013
- The program has financed:
- 36 Ag waste management projects ($1.6 million)
- 7 Conservation tillage projects ($0.4 million)
- 167 Septic system upgrades ($1.8 million)
This program provides low interest loans to individuals for management practices that restore or protect water quality. Loans must be used toward practices that reduce soil and water erosion and ensure safe manure and waste water management.
-
The advantage of a loan program is that money is paid back and can be reused over and over again
-
Processing costs for the AgBMP Loan Program are extremely low, approximately $100.00 per loan
Typical projects funded include septic system upgrades, agricultural waste management projects, erosion control structures and the purchase of conservation tillage equipment. Loans can be used on a farm, a rural home site, in an unsewered community or at a lakeside cabin.
The AgBMP Loan program has provided financial assistance to farmers, rural landowners, and farm supply businesses since 1995. This program has issued over 10,000 loans and received funding from five different sources, including the Clean Water Fund (CWF).
Clean Water funding increases the program's loan capacity to meet financing needs in areas with approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Plans. All other funding sources, primarily federal funds, are used to finance any priority or practice identified in local comprehensive water or environmental plans.
Eligible Best Management Practices (BMPs) are based on recommendations from the Minnesota Pollution Control (MPCA), Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), and the knowledge and skills of local government unit staff including county Environmental Offices, county Feedlot officers, local water planners, local Soil and Water Conservation Districts and consulting engineers.
Research, Pilot Projects and Technical Assistance
$2.265 million for 2010-2011
$1.550 million for 2012-2013
Research to Quantify Agricultural Contributions to Impaired Waters, BMP Research and Evaluation, and Research Inventory Database
$2.450 million for 2012-2013
Discovery Farms Minnesota
Quick Status Update: as of 4/2/2012
- Discovery Farms are currently located at several sites in southern, southeastern, and central Minnesota. They are located in Kandiyohi, Goodhue, Chisago, Blue Earth (2), Renville, Wright and Stearns County.
- Water monitoring equipment is fully operational at all sites. A summary of the 2011 monitoring season is available on the MAWRC's website!
- Additional Discovery Farm sites will be established in spring 2012. A total of 15 applications were received and staff is currently evaluating sites.
The Discovery Farms program is a farmer-led effort to gather information on sediment and nutrient losses on farms in different settings across Minnesota. It is designed to evaluate agriculture's impact on water quality and to provide baseline data on the environmental performance of Minnesota farms. This program also provides information about how producers can adopt BMPs.
The MDA is supporting the Discovery Farms program by providing technical assistance and expertise in water monitoring. A list of MDA's responsibilities is located on the Discovery Farms webpage.
The Discovery Farms Program introduces a unique approach to water monitoring. Instead of using models to predict runoff, monitoring stations on Discovery Farms will measure soil and nutrient movement as it occurs in the field. Water quality information is collected on privately owned and operated farms along with information about farm practices, soil types and weather. This site specific information is valuable to producers and can be used to make environmental management decisions.
Discovery Farms Minnesota was launched in 2009 by farm organizations and commodity groups, specifically the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resources Center (MAWRC), with the support of the MDA and the University of Minnesota Extension. This effort is an outgrowth of a feasibility study conducted by the University of Minnesota using Clean Water Legacy Act funds (2007) provided by MDA.
Livestock Environmental Quality Assurance (LEQA) Program
Final Update - Completed Project:
- 12 LEQA technicians trained
- 105 on-farm assessments completed
- Assessment of 47,529 acres, 55,215 animal units and 506 environmentally sensitive areas
- LEQA Executive Summary Report
LEQA was an MDA program to help livestock producers address, using a non-regulatory approach, the unique water quality issues on their farms. MDA contracted with Ag Resource Strategies, LLC, to recruit farmers to enroll in the LEQA program. The company trained technicians to assess farms in separate resource management areas, such as the farmstead, livestock facilities, fields and wooded areas. The technicians then developed an environmental assessment. The assessment helped farmers determine what actions they could take themselves and how to obtain financial assistance for projects.
Clean Water Research Program
Quick Status Update: as of 2/1/2012
- In 2011, the MDA received 28 research proposals totaling $7.6 million in requests. An evaluation team is currently deciding which projects will receive funding.
- This program has 11 on-going projects and six completed projects (please note some projects were supported by one time appropriations in 2007 and 2008/2009).
There remains considerable knowledge gaps about agriculture's impact on water quality and what specific best management practices need to be implemented (type and location) to minimize nutrient and sediment losses and improve the environmental performance of individual farms. Appropriations from the Clean Water Fund are being used to address this uncertainty.
The MDA is supporting research projects to identify processes that affect water quality and evaluate the costs and benefits of specific agricultural practices. Since 2008, the MDA has announced three requests for proposals. Any organization, research entity or individual may apply for these funds. The MDA works cooperatively with various research entities and provides administrative support for the program. This program has supported 17 projects.
The goals of the research program are to:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural BMPs
- Identify underlying processes that affect water quality
- Develop technologies to target critical areas of the landscape
This research helps provide current and accurate scientific data on the environmental impact of agricultural practices and to develop or revise BMPs that reduce environmental impacts while maintaining economic profitability. An update for individual projects is located on MDA's Research webpage
Precision Conservation: Targeting Clean Water Implementation
Quick Status Update:
- From April to November 2010, the MDA held seven one-day workshops, training over 140 local conservation professionals on LiDAR-based digital terrain analysis techniques for identifying critical areas of the landscape.
- A workshop agenda, presentation and manual is located on MDA's Precision Conservation webpage
Via workshops and case studies, this project is disseminating high-resolution, GIS-based terrain analysis modeling techniques to conservation professionals who work on locally-led water quality projects. In a previous Clean Water Legacy project, the MDA developed terrain analysis techniques to provide a more scientific basis for identifying and prioritizing critical sources of erosion and runoff in agricultural landscapes. Targeting conservation practices to critical source areas can produce greater environmental benefits at a lower cost.
Phase II of this project will begin in 2012. Please visit MDA's Precision Conservation webpage for more details.
Drainage Demonstration Sites: Reducing P and N Transport via Sub-surface Tile Drainage
Quick Status Update:
- The Clay County site is fully operational. Water samples are automatically collected whenever water flows through tile lines. Results from the 2011 field season will be posted on the Drainage Demonstration webpage when they are available.
- The Highway 90 Demonstration site is fully operational. Water samples are automatically collected whenever water flows through tile lines. Preliminary results from the 2010 and 2011 field season are posted on the Drainage Demonstration webpage.
The MDA operates a network of drainage demonstration sites around the state of Minnesota, each designed to study the quality and quantity of water and agricultural chemicals moving through subsurface drainage tiles. These sites evaluate different methods of reducing phosphorus and/or nitrogen loss on agricultural lands and provide critical information about the characteristics of agricultural drainage.
Clean Water funded sites include the Highway 90 project near Mankato and a Tile Drainage Demonstration Site in Clay County. These sites complement ongoing efforts to evaluate environmental and economic impacts of subsurface tile drainage and evaluate different methods of reducing phosphorus and/or nitrogen loss on agricultural lands. These sites also help farmers adopt BMPs through local on-farm evaluation and demonstration of practices.
Clean Water Research Accountability Database
Quick Status Update: as of 4/2/2012
- In 2011, a project advisory committee was formed. The committee has met twice, providing essential input on questions regarding the scope of material to be included in the inventory and the types of searchable attributes to be entered into the database.
- Taking this input into account, a high-level database design was completed, including a data model and more than 100 draft screens (windows) for data entry, public searches, and database reporting and maintenance.
- In 2012, the data model is being refined and the highest priority screens will be developed.
- A preliminary, non-public version of the database will be ready for testing in the fall of 2012.
This project will create a centralized, web-based inventory of water related research in Minnesota.When complete, users will be able to search for information by research topic, research method, water body, funding source, etc. Organizing information about research projects in a single database will make it easier to find results and coordinate research efforts. The database will be a valuable resource for both the scientific and water policy communities.
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance is a vital element of the MDA's clean water activities. Clean Water funding has been used to coordinate clean water projects, enhance communication and outreach, support local partnerships and foster regional cooperation. This assistance helps to ensure that accurate, scientifically-based information on the costs and benefits of specific agricultural practices is incorporated into environmental plans in Minnesota. These include costs for technical staff.
One time appropriation 2010-2011 - $395,000
continued in 2012-2013 using funding from the Research, Pilot Projects and Technical Assistance appropriation
Quick Status Update: as of 2/1/2012
- Monitoring began with snowmelt in 2010, resulting in two full years of monitoring. During this time, more than 160 samples have been collected at the edge-of-field locations. On average there are three to five runoff generating events each year; these are often triggered by snowmelt runoff and rainfall runoff during periods of the year when the crop canopy is not well established.
- Streamgaging sites have been established at the outlets of three sub-watersheds (smaller basins with the Root River watershed). Sampling began at with snowmelt in the spring of 2010. More than 635 samples have been collected at the in-stream locations.
- The first round of producer surveys is complete. Twenty-eight producers participated in the survey; this represents approximately 70% of the roughly 6,000 cultivated acres in the study area.
- In 2011, three producers participated in nitrogen rate evaluations (strip trials) and one producer participated in a reduced tillage comparison. Growers involved in the nitrogen trials compared their normal nitrogen application practices and rates to alternative practices and rates (i.e. 154 lbs N per acre verses 124 lbs N per acre).
- Learn more ... Read the Root River Field to Stream Partnership Report (PDF: 9.7 MB/15 pages) released on January 15, 2012.
The Root River Partnership is designed to help southeast Minnesota farmers and policy-makers better understand the relationship between agricultural practices and water quality. The partnership is conducting evaluations of water quality and land management at multiple scales using the latest tools and technology.
This project includes two approaches to addressing water quality/quantity issues in the Root River watershed. One component emphasizes edge-of-field monitoring and the other focuses on small watershed evaluation (in -stream monitoring).
Groundwater and Drinking Water Protection
$1.125 million for 2010-2011
$1.700 million for 2012-2013
Groundwater funding from Minnesota's Clean Water Fund is being used for activities that help identify potential sources of nitrate contamination and to evaluate and implement practices at the local level to reduce nitrates in groundwater.
The MDA is working with many local partners and passing funding through to local government units. These partners provide producers with the knowledge and tools to minimize the amount of fertilizer that is lost to groundwater and surface water. Below is a list of Clean Water funded groundwater and drinking water projects.
Characterizing Nitrates in Private Drinking Water Wells- Central Sands Region
The MDA has signed a Joint Powers Agreement with Wadena County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). Wadena County SWCD is partnering with 13 other counties that make up the "Central Sands Outwash". Nitrate analysis of approximately 2,500 private wells will be completed and a subset of these homeowners will be used to establish a long term monitoring network.
As of December 2011, a total of 1555 well owners in the Central Sands Private Well Monitoring Network project filled out a survey about their well (construction type, well depth, age, etc) and sent in a water sample to be analyzed for nitrate. Approximately, 800 well owners will be invited to participate in the long-term monitoring network.
Read a Summary of the 2011 Results.
Rosholt Farm
The MDA has signed a Joint Powers Agreement with Pope County SWCD. Partners, which include Stearns County SWCD, Prairie Lakes Co-op, and the University of Minnesota (U of M), will support a demonstration project at the Herman Rosholt Farm near Westport, Minnesota. The project is designed to evaluate the water quality impacts of different nitrogen management practices in a highly vulnerable irrigated setting.
2011 was the first full year of data collection at the Rosholt Farm. Results will be posted on the project webpage when they become available (summer 2012).
Crop Irrigation Workshops
The MDA has entered a Joint Powers Agreement with the East Otter Tail SWCD. The EOT SWCD, along with five counties, the U of M, and the Irrigators Association of Minnesota (IAM) will carry out workshops to enhance water and nitrogen management for both new and experienced irrigators in central Minnesota. MDA and East Ottertail SWCD have developed curriculum and hosted irrigation workshops in central Minnesota.
MDA installed two weather stations and producers can access information on the EOT SWCD's website.
Nutrient Management Survey
The MDA, in partnership with researchers at the University of Minnesota and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), have pioneered a survey tool for characterizing fertilizer management practices on a regional and statewide scale. Information collected will guide future research and educational activities, provide insight about BMP adoption, and guide policy-makers in making informed decisions related to nitrogen use.
Results from MDA's 2010 survey are NOW available- Survey of Nitrogen Fertilizer Use on Corn in Minnesota
Revision of the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan
The MDA has formed an advisory committee and is moving forward with a formal review process for the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan. This document is the State's blueprint for prevention or minimization of the impacts of nitrogen fertilizer on the water resources of the state. It was last updated in 1990.
$675,000 for 2010-2011
$700,000 for 2012-2013
Quick Status Update:
- Clean Water funding has increased the capability and capacity of MDA's water monitoring program through the provision of new analytical instruments in the lab.
- The new equipment, specifically a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS), is capable of detecting a broader suite of chemicals at lower concentrations. Approximately 1600 samples were submitted for analysis in 2010, an increase of 600 samples as compared to 2009.
The MDA has been monitoring the state's water resources continuously for more than 20 years. The purpose of the MDA's monitoring activities is to determine the presence and concentration of pesticides and nutrients in Minnesota's ground and surface water. Clean Water funding has increased the capability and capacity of the water monitoring program through the provision of new analytical instruments in the MDA lab. The new equipment is capable of detecting more chemicals at lower concentrations.
The MDA used Clean Water funding to purchase equipment for a liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analytical method. The switch to this new method has expanded the MDA's monitoring capability. Whereas in 2009, MDA routinely analyzed for approximately 44 pesticides requiring three different analytical procedures, in 2010 MDA can detect and quantify over 100 pesticides using two different analytical procedures. The most significant advancement of the new method is the ability to quantify concentrations for many of these chemicals at a much lower level. Approximately 1600 pesticide samples were submitted for analysis during 2010; an increase of approximately 600 samples compared to 2009.
The MDA has a monitoring agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) for sampling surface water, groundwater and lakes.
MDA Contacts
Adam Birr, Ph.D.
Impaired Waters Technical Coordinator
Adam.Birr@state.mn.us ~ 507-206-2881
Margaret Wagner
Environmental Outreach Coordinator
Margaret.Wagner@state.mn.us ~ 651-201-6488
|
