Lower Mississippi River Feedlot Management in MN
The Lower Mississippi River Feedlot Management in MN project will be leveraging State funding from BWSR to provide match for a United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) Regional Conservations Partners Program (RCPP). BWSR will provide technical and financial assistance to plan and design projects to mitigate feedlot runoff from smaller (less than 300 animal units or AUs*), open lot feedlots in southeastern Minnesota. BWSR will dedicate $260,000 per year for 5 years to provide both financial and technical assistance, along with $300,000 in BWSR Clean Water Funds as financial assistance, for a total obligation of $1.6M over the duration of the RCPP project. The BWSR funds will be granted to the Southeast Minnesota Technical Support Joint Powers Board (JPB), which is administer by Glen Roberson, Goodhue SWCD and Host Manager. USDA-NRCS will be providing $1.6M in assistance directly to landowners for this RCPP project through their Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). BWSR anticipates utilizing these funds to focus on technical assistance needs connected to developing Conservation Activity Plans (CAPs) and engineered designs for USDA-NRCS EQIP projects. *Clean Water Funds can be used for financial assistance to livestock operators with 500 AUs or less via BWSR policy. General funds are limited to less than 300 AUs by as detailed in the said appropriation language.
Fixing open lot runoff from livestock operations, as well as managed grazing and manure management, has been a focused effort for local partners in the Lower Mississippi River in Minnesota (LMRM) for the last two decades, but more specifically since the 2000s when the LMRM basin regional fecal coliform TMDL was adopted. Water quality strategies and plans for this region have been based on significant water quality data and modeling efforts that have identified that livestock agriculture is a major contributor of nutrients, bacteria, and sediment to local streams and directly to the main stem of the Mississippi River. This area has one of the highest concentration of livestock operations under 300 AUs in Minnesota, and there is a strong history of farmers working with local partners (ex. SWCDs) and the NRCS on solutions for mitigating impacts from feedlot and agricultural runoff.
Nicole Clapp
The overall plan for this project is to:Utilize existing local staff funded through current State grants to work with identified landowners to develop options for potential solutions,Provide technical assistance to develop CAPs, develop engineered plans, and assist with construction/observation/inspection for practice implementation,Provide financial assistance for construction through EQIP, State funding, and local landowner contributions,Measure outcomes using MinnFARM pollution model and through the Statewide and local water monitoring networks, and,Assess the achievement towards water quality goals as stated in upcoming watershed restoration and protection strategies (WRAPS), Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), and local water planning efforts, including One Watershed One Plans (1W1Ps).
FY16:
NRCS-EQIP: $400K
BWSR General Fund TA: $200K
BWSR General Fund FA: $60K
FY17:
NRCS-EQIP: $400K
BWSR General Fund TA: $200K
BWSR General Fund FA: $60K
BWSR CWF FA: $300K
FY18
NRCS-EQIP: $400K
BWSR General Fund TA: $200K
BWSR General Fund FA: $60K
FY19
NRCS-EQIP: $200K
BWSR General Fund TA: $200K
BWSR General Fund FA: $60K
FY20
NRCS-EQIP: $200K
BWSR General Fund TA: $50K
BWSR General Fund FA: $210K