At the Pioneer Press, outdoors writer Dave Orrick has turned in the most comprehensive report on the $795 million proposal Governor Mark Dayton submitted to the USDA for a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) for the state.
Orrick reports in Dayton pushes for $800 million water-quality farmland easement plan:
Continuing his focus on water quality throughout Minnesota's farmlands, Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday said the state is seeking federal approval for a nearly $800 million plan to permanently protect 100,000 acres across southern and western Minnesota.
The plan, which seeks a mix of state and federal funds, aims to purchase permanent conservation easements on privately owned wetlands, vegetative strips along waterways, and drinking water sources. Willing landowners would be paid a lump sum in exchange for the rights to farm or build on the land forever.
"These would be numerous small slices of land all over the landscape," said John Jaschke, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources, which would be tasked with overseeing the program. Wetlands would be restored, and farmed lands would be planted with natural grasses. . . .
For the past year, Dayton's administration has repeatedly underscored the connection between the state's most polluted waters and modern farming practices. For example, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency earlier this year examined 93 streams in southwestern Minnesota and found only three capable of supporting aquatic life and only one with clean enough water to be considered safe for swimming. The issue is also affecting drinking water sources, as nitrates from fertilizer percolate through soils into groundwater.
The Legislature approved a modified version of Dayton's plan to require buffer strips of vegetation along rivers, streams and ditches to reduce erosion and pollution from farm fertilizer and pesticide runoff.
Monday's proposal is related; federal subsidies through various programs are available to landowners to help them plant buffer strips and compensate them for the loss of lucrative crops like corn and soybeans. Dayton's plan would add to those options for landowners, Jaschke said. In addition to wetlands and buffers along streams, the plan would also seek to protect landscapes where underground drinking water wells can be tainted by pollution on the land above. . . .
Orrick reached powerful opponent of the plan, Dan Busselman, director of public policy for the Minnesota Farm Bureau, as well as an influential water quality champion in the Minnesota House, state representative Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, who also farms near Harmony. Read the piece at the Pioneer Press.
At the Strib, Tony Kennedy reports about the development in Bigger, better buffers the target of proposed $800 million, five-year program, while Forum Communications Minnesota Capitol Bureau chief Don Davis filed Dayton lays out plan turning 100,000 acres of crops into conservation land.
Will CREP application placate Congressman Peterson?
According to the USDA webpage, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program:
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is an offshoot of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the country’s largest private-land conservation program. Administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), CREP targets high-priority conservation issues identified by local, state, or tribal governments or non-governmental organizations. In exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from production and introducing conservation practices, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural land owners are paid an annual rental rate. Participation is voluntary, and the contract period is typically 10–15 years, along with other federal and state incentives as applicable per each CREP agreement.
This development appears to seek funding from an offshoot of a program that MN07 Congressman Collin Peterson had touted over the perceived mandatory taking of property in Dayton's original buffer proposal. Back in June, Brownfield Ag News reported that the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee pointed to CRP in buffer debate:
Congressman Collin Peterson’s solution to the buffer bill proposed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton lies in the federal Farm Bill.
Peterson, the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, says a widely used provision exists that provides federal funding for voluntary buffer strips.
“The continuous CRP. It is available year round. There’s acres available under that program. We’ve put in additional incentives, so we’re paying two to three times what we pay for normal CRP if people sign up in the continuous CRP buffer program.”
He tells Brownfield he thinks it’s dangerous to put any kind of set-in-stone number in place like Dayton did with the original buffer language. Peterson has spoken to the governor and some state legislators about promoting CRP instead of pushing a mandatory taking of property.
According to the USDA, state involvement makes CREP different from continuous CRP:
How Is CREP Different From Continuous CRP?
You may have read information about Continuous CRP and are wondering how it differs from CREP. While both programs focus on environmentally sensitive land, CREP is a partnership between state and/or tribal governments and the federal government. This partnership is in place to address a high priority environmental problem. Land cannot be enrolled in CREP if your state does not have a CREP agreement.
How Do I enroll?
Your state must have a CREP agreement in place with FSA. If there is an agreement, land can be enrolled in CREP on a continuous basis provided it meets the eligibility requirements for the program. Any land that meets basic CRP eligibility requirements, plus the additional requirements for a specific CREP project, is automatically eligible for enrollment. Most additional CREP land eligibility requirements apply to the location and characteristics of the land to be enrolled. All enrollment offers are processed through your local FSA office.
It will be curious to see how supportive Peterson will be of the Governor's proposal, as well as the reaction by members of the Minnesota legislature, which will convene on March 8.
Sources tell Bluestem that a tweet in late July by Minnesota House Ag Policy Vice Chair Mary Franson is accurate about the principle authors in the House of the final buffer bill language:
Thanks @JeffBacker @timmiller_mn @SteveDraz for your work on the buffer bill ... #mnleg http://t.co/WEav57pzGQ
— Mary Franson (@TeamFranson) July 29, 2015
Will these architects of the state's revised buffer policy signed by the Governor support this ambitious approach to funding conservation?
Photo: A buffer, via the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association post, DNR Releases Buffer Mapping Project Details.
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