Cover Crop Grant Funding Now Available

February 23, 2020 by SWCD

The East Otter Tail and Wadena Soil and Water Conservation District Boards are proud to announce that we have recieved funds for a Cover Crop Demonstration Grant from the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR). We will use the $227,000 grant to develop a cover crop demonstration program that will provide opportunities to increase the establishment of cover crops in targeted areas of East Otter Tail and Wadena counties.

“The goal of this project is to work with local farmers to establish 1,000 acres of cover crops annually to prevent soil erosion, enrich soil health, improve water quality and produce more sustainable and profitable farming operations” said Darren Newville, District Manager. Producers selected for the project will receive payments to establish cover crops on a maximum of 80 acres for a period of 3 years. The project will focus on establishing cover crops following specialty crops like edible beans and potatoes but will also consider additional opportunities for livestock producers and traditional corn and soybean growers.

We intend to have three cover crop demo sites where annual farmer field days will be hosted to discuss all things cover crop related. We will also host informal winter meetings for participating producers that will establish a farmer-to-farmer learning environment to encourage sharing what works best on their farms and provide other farmers with ideas on how to replicate those successes. 

Through this project we intend to strengthen our partnerships with local farmers, agronomists, cooperatives, farmer organizations including SFA, the Central Lakes College Staples, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the UMN Extension.

For information on the project you can contact the East Otter Tail SWCD at 218-346-9105, or the Wadena SWCD at 218-632-4201.

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