 Minnesota’s lakes, rivers and streams feature prominently in our recreation and our quality of life, and the high quality of those public waters is part of what makes our state special. Minnesota is also the nation’s fifth most productive agricultural state with nearly 27 million acres devoted to agricultural production, $15 billion in annual sales, 340,000 Minnesota jobs supported and an amazing variety of farms.
These distinctive assets make Minnesota the ideal location for a new collaborative approach focused on the intersection between agricultural production and water quality. The goal of the new state and federal partnership, called the Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program, is to enhance Minnesota’s water quality by accelerating the voluntary adoption of on-farm conservation practices.
The program is the product of a state-federal partnership that includes the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
-- NEW –Committee Formation March 5 through April 16, 2012
The Minnesota Department of Agricultural (MDA) is seeking candidates to serve on an advisory committee to help develop the Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program. The committee will be convened and staffed by the MDA with membership from the following:
- 2 farmers or ranchers;
- 2 representatives of general farm organizations;
- 3 representatives of commodity or livestock organizations;
- 1 representative of agriculture-related business;
- 1 representative of crop consultants or advisors;
- 2 representatives of environmental organizations;
- 2 representatives of conservation organizations; and
- 2 representatives of local government units.
Are you interested in becoming a member?
The first step of the program is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on January 17, 2012, by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. The MOU document formalizes the state-federal partnership and confirms the joint commitment to developing and implementing the program.
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