Statewide Groundwater and Drinking Water Protection
Nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) is one of the contaminants of greatest concern for groundwater in Minnesota. This funding is being used for activities that help identify the severity and magnitude of nitrate contamination and implement practices at the local level to reduce nitrate in groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is working with many local partners and passing funding through to local government units (counties, cities, soil and water conservation districts) to address this concern.
The MDA works with local partners to assess groundwater in agricultural areas and works directly with local farmers and agri-business to improve water quality in areas where groundwater quality is adversely impacted. The MDA also works with University researchers to develop, promote and provide education on Nitrogen Fertilizer Best Management Practices (BMPs).
Funding will be used for a variety of projects related to groundwater and drinking water protection, including:
- Responding to areas with elevated nitrate in groundwater
- Private well monitoring networks (regional assessments) and accelerated private well nitrate testing in sensitive townships
- Demonstration sites validating nitrogen recommendations (timing, rate, source) and water quality impacts under irrigated agriculture
- Irrigation and nitrogen management workshops
- Installation of regional weather stations to help farmers implement irrigation management
- Nutrient management surveys to evaluate on-farm adoption of BMPs
The MDA works on a statewide effort to better understand nitrogen fertilizer use and to promote proper nitrogen management. This page includes examples of these efforts.
The following activities and programs are included under Statewide Groundwater and Drinking Water Protection.
- Township Testing Program
- Central Sands Private Well Network
- Southeast Minnesota Volunteer Nitrate Monitoring Network
- Irrigation Water Quality Protection, Irrigation Specialist Position
- Ag Weather & Irrigation Management Resources, (Minnesota Ag Weather Network)
- Water Quality and Irrigation Research at Rosholt Farm
M.L. 2023: (b) $3,000,000 the first year and $3,000,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices, cover crops, and other vegetative cover; assessing adoption of best management practices and other recommended practices; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities, including research activities at the Rosholt Research Farm; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2028.
(b) $2,585,000 the first year and $2,585,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing adoption of best management practices; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities, including research activities at the Rosholt Research Farm; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2026.
(b) $2,585,000 the first year and $2,585,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing adoption of best management practices; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities, including research activities at the Rosholt Research Farm; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2026.
The Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan was revised and updated in 2015 and the Groundwater Protection Rule went into effect in June 2019. The NFMP and GPR are being implemented to address nitrate from fertilizer in groundwater.
Partnerships are established in vulnerable areas in support of groundwater protection:
- 36 local government units on nitrate monitoring and reduction activities
- 21 projects (SE Volunteer Network, Central Sands Volunteer Network, 18 Level 2 DWSMAs, RCPP)
- On average 39% of funds are passed through to local government units and research partners
- 13 on-farm nitrogen fertilizer BMP evaluation/demonstration sites
- On average about 98 NMI on-farm plots each year (92 standard plots, 6 advanced N-rate trials)
- engaging on average 98 famers and 27 crop advisers
Regional and Township Testing: Approximately 32,880 private well owners have participated in either a one-time (snapshot) or long-term nitrate testing.
~ 650-900 of those private wells are tested annually through the Central Sands Private Well
Network and Southeast Volunteer Nitrate Monitoring Network.
- 32,217 private wells in vulnerable townships have been tested through MDA’s Township Testing Program (2013-2019)
- Work completed in 344 vulnerable townships within 50 counties
- Overall, 9.1% (2,925) of the 32,217 wells tested in vulnerable areas exceeded the drinking water standard for nitrate
- 143 townships with ≥ 10% of wells over 10 mg/L nitrate (41%)
- 68 townships with 5-9 % of wells over 10 mg/L nitrate (20%)
- 133 townships with <5% of wells over 10 mg/L nitrate (39%)
Groundwater Protection Rule: The MDA has completed a review of the monitoring data received from the Minnesota Department of Health in 2021 and 2022 and determined the following:
- 8 DWSMAs are designated as Level 1 with nitrate levels at or above 5.4 mg/L but less than 8 mg/L
- 21 DWSMAs are designated as Level 2 with nitrate levels at or above 8 mg/L
- 10 DWSMAs need more information before a level determination can be made
In 2020, 61 on-farm demonstrations were located within 1 mile of the boundary of or within the Fall Nitrogen Fertilizer Restriction area or Level 2 DWSMAs. (This includes all NMI trials, RRFSP, Discovery Farms MN, Red River Valley Drainage Water Management, Rosholt, and SE MN BMP programs.)
Nitrogen Fertilizer BMPs are revised based on research: U of M nitrogen fertilizer rate studies at two regional locations led to the development of new nitrogen rate guidelines for irrigated corn ("Fertilizing Corn Grown on Irrigated Sandy Soils”)
12 applied research projects evaluate(d) BMPs (6 on-going)
- Rosholt Farm: 2 ongoing, 1 completed
- Clean Water Research: 2 ongoing, 5 completed
- Other research (funded by N in Groundwater): 2 ongoing
Education and outreach programs help promote Nitrogen Fertilizer BMPs to farmers and crop advisers:
Nutrient management
- Funding two UM-Extension Educators – Agricultural Water Quality Protection positions
- Four state-wide conferences reaching over 1,200 attendees (virtual in 2021, both in-person and virtual in 2022) and impacting over 11,675,000 acres (Nitrogen & Nutrient Management)
- Continuing education credits offered to Certified Crop Advisers
- Minnesota Irrigators Program: Intensive three-day training program for irrigators and SWCD technical staff on applying nutrient and water BMPs for irrigated crop production.
Weather data and Irrigation management
- 14 weather stations - Central Minnesota Ag Weather Network (weather info available online in real-time). Stations are now included in the North Dakota Ag Weather Network with greater outreach to irrigators.
- 17 websites and 2 mobile apps utilize the data from the weather stations
- 10 counties use weather data as part of an online irrigation scheduling tool in Central Minnesota
- 17 weather information requests were received from 10 different researchers and technical staff from state agencies and U of M
M.L. 2019: (b) $2,585,000 the first year and $2,585,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing best management practice adoption; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities, including research activities at the Rosholt Research Farm; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2024.
The Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan was revised and updated in 2015 and the Groundwater Protection Rule went into effect in June 2019. The NFMP and GPR are being implemented to address nitrate from fertilizer in groundwater.
Partnerships are established in vulnerable areas in support of groundwater protection
- 36 local government units on nitrate monitoring and reduction activities
- 21 projects (SE Volunteer Network, Central Sands Volunteer Network, 18 Level 2 DWSMAs, Precision Irrigation Cost-Share)
- On average 39% of funds are passed through to local government units and research partners
- 15 on-farm nitrogen fertilizer BMP evaluation sites
Regional and Township Testing: Approximately 32,880 private well owners have participated in either a one-time (snapshot) or long-term nitrate testing.
~ 650-900 of those private wells are tested annually through the Central Sands Private Well
Network and Southeast Volunteer Nitrate Monitoring Network.
- 32,217 wells private wells in vulnerable townships have been tested through MDA’s Township Testing Program (2013-2019)
- Work completed in 344 vulnerable townships within 50 counties
- Overall, 9.1% (2,925) of the 32,217 wells tested in vulnerable areas exceeded the drinking water standard for nitrate
- 143 townships with ≥ 10% of wells over 10 mg/L nitrate (41%)
- 68 townships with 5-9 % of wells over 10 mg/L nitrate (20%)
- 133 townships with <5% of wells over 10 mg/L nitrate (39%)
Groundwater Protection Rule: The MDA has completed a review of the monitoring data received from the Minnesota Department of Health in 2021 and 2022 and determined the following:
- 8 DWSMAs are designated as Level 1 with nitrate levels at or above 5.4 mg/L but less than 8 mg/L
- 21 DWSMAs are designated as Level 2 with nitrate levels at or above 8 mg/L
- 10 DWSMAs need more information before a level determination can be made
Nitrogen Fertilizer BMPs are revised based on research: U of M nitrogen fertilizer rate studies at two regional locations led to the development of new nitrogen rate guidelines for irrigated corn ("Fertilizing Corn Grown on Irrigated Sandy Soils”)
Twelve applied research and on-farm projects evaluation Best Management Practices (BMPs) (6 on-going)
Rosholt Farm
- Evaluating Crop Yield and Water Quality Impacts of Nitrogen Management, Cover Crops and Living Mulches in Irrigated Corn and Soybean (PI Fernandez) (on-going)
- Optimizing Nitrogen and Water Management under Irrigation and Quantifying Water Quality and Crop Yield Impacts (PI Sharma) (on-going)
- Evaluation and performance of different irrigation scheduling methods and their impact on corn production and nitrate leaching in central sands region of Minnesota (PI Sharma) (completed)
Clean Water Research
- Cover crop effectiveness in a series of farm BMPs, 2012-2019 (PI Lenhart) (completed)
- The Cover Crops, Water, and Nitrogen Nexus: How do they impact corn and soybean production and the environment? (PI Garcia y Garcia) (completed)
- The Minnesota Cover Crop Guide (PI Cates) (completed)
- Adjusting corn nitrogen rates using a preplant nitrate test to reduce potential for N loss in South-Central and Southeastern Minnesota (PI Kaiser) (waiting for final report)
- Improved Design, Performance, and Implementation of Saturated Buffers (PI Sands) (completed, in review)
- Development of the nitrogen BMP effectiveness tool for groundwater protection in Minnesota under varying soil types and climatic conditions (PI Mulla & Lazarus) (on-going)
- Recommendations for residual soil nitrogen testing and N rate adjustment (PI Fernandez) (on-going)
- USGS Age Dating
- USGS Predictive N Model
On-Farm Demonstrations (15)
- Nutrient Management Initiative – Advanced Plots (MDA/Kaiser)
- Southeast Minnesota Nitrogen BMP Program (MDA/Jeff Vetsch)
Education and outreach programs help promote Nitrogen Fertilizer BMPs to farmers and crop advisers:
Nutrient management
- Funding two UM-Extension Educators – Agricultural Water Quality Protection positions
- Four state-wide conferences reaching over 1,200 attendees (virtual in 2021, both in-person and virtual in 2022) and impacting over 11,675,000 acres (Nitrogen & Nutrient Management)
- Continuing education credits offered to Certified Crop Advisers
- Minnesota Irrigators Program: Intensive three-day training program for irrigators and SWCD technical staff on applying nutrient and water BMPs for irrigated crop production.
Weather data and Irrigation management
- 14 weather stations - Central Minnesota Ag Weather Network (weather info available online in real-time). Stations are now included in the North Dakota Ag Weather Network with greater outreach to irrigators.
- 17 websites and 2 mobile apps utilize the data from the weather stations
- 10 counties use weather data as part of an online irrigation scheduling tool in Central Minnesota
- 17 weather information requests were received from 10 different researchers and technical staff from state agencies and U of M
M.L. 2019: (b) $2,585,000 the first year and $2,585,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing best management practice adoption; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities, including research activities at the Rosholt Research Farm; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2024.
- Number of local government units in partnership on nitrate monitoring and reduction activities
- Percentage of funds passed through to local government units and research partners
- Number of Drinking Water Supply Management Areas that participate in mitigation activities through the Groundwater Protection Rule
- Education and outreach programs to help promote Nitrogen Fertilizer best management practices to farmers and crop advisers
- Number of applied research and on-farm projects
Partnerships
- 26 local government units partner with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on nitrate monitoring and reduction activities
- 50% of Clean Water Funds are passed through to local government units and research partners
Groundwater Protection Rule
- Drinking Water Supply Management Areas (DWSMAs) that participate in mitigation activities
- 6 DWSMAs are designated as Level 1 with nitrate levels at or above 5.4 mg/L but less than 8 mg/L
- 17 DWSMAs are designated as Level 2 with nitrate levels at or above 8 mg/L
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
- Four state-wide conferences promoted Nitrogen Fertilizer BMPs to over 575 farmers and crop advisers, impacting 6,200,000 acres
- 9 applied research and on-farm projects are evaluating BMPs
M.L. 2017: (b) $2,085,000 the first year and $2,086,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing best management practice adoption; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2022.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L. 2017: (b) $2,085,000 the first year and $2,086,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing best management practice adoption; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; grants to support agricultural demonstration and implementation activities; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2022.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L. 2015: (b) $2,586,000 the first year and $2,585,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; monitoring for pesticides when nitrate is detected; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing best management practice adoption; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2018.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L. 2015: (b) $2,586,000 the first year and $2,585,000 the second year are for monitoring and evaluating trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation; monitoring for pesticides when nitrate is detected; promoting, developing, and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices; assessing best management practice adoption; education and technical support from University of Minnesota Extension; and other actions to protect groundwater from degradation from nitrate. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2018.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L. 2013:(b) $2,500,000 the first year and $2,500,000 the second year are to increase monitoring and evaluate trends in the concentration of nitrates in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation, including a substantial increase of monitoring of private wells in cooperation with the commissioner of health, monitoring for pesticides when nitrates are detected, and promoting and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices to protect groundwater from degradation. Of this amount, $75,000 may be used for accelerating the update for the commercial manure applicator manual.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L. 2013:(b) $2,500,000 the first year and $2,500,000 the second year are to increase monitoring and evaluate trends in the concentration of nitrates in groundwater in areas vulnerable to groundwater degradation, including a substantial increase of monitoring of private wells in cooperation with the commissioner of health, monitoring for pesticides when nitrates are detected, and promoting and evaluating regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices to protect groundwater from degradation. Of this amount, $75,000 may be used for accelerating the update for the commercial manure applicator manual.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L.2011: (b) $850, 000 the first year and $850,000 the second year are to increase monitoring and evaluate trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in high-risk areas and regionally and to promote and evaluate regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2016.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
M.L.2011: (b) $850, 000 the first year and $850,000 the second year are to increase monitoring and evaluate trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in high-risk areas and regionally and to promote and evaluate regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2016.
Please refer to individual project pages. See "related projects".
Please refer to individual project pages. See "related projects".
M.L. 2009: (c) $375,000 the first year and $750,000 the second year are to increase groundwater and drinking water protection from agricultural chemicals, primarily nutrients.
M.L.2011: (b) $850, 000 the first year and $850,000 the second year are to increase monitoring and evaluate trends in the concentration of nitrate in groundwater in high-risk areas and regionally and to promote and evaluate regional and crop-specific nutrient best management practices. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2016.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Please refer to the most recent fiscal year.
Note: At the end of the first biennium, $314,232 of the overall $1,125,000 appropriated for Groundwater and Drinking Water Protection was returned because MDA budgeted for indirects but did not charge them.