Farm Horizons Farm Horizons 6/16 | Page 19

Farm Horizons • June 6, 2016 ment will have to decide how to move forward,” Saxton said. Additional watercourses Local soil and water conservation districts will have the opportunity to add areas of concern in the county —“other waters” — where water quality would benefit from buffers. These areas would be voluntary on the part of the landowner, and would not be enforceable with penalties. For example, a stream requiring a 50-foot buffer could be fed by a tributary not included in the DNR buffer maps. The soil and water conservation district could recommend that tributary as an additional resource if there is a water quality concern. Adding recommended watercourses to the county water plan is expected to take place over the next year, said Ryan Freitag, program director for McLeod Soil and Water Conservation District. “We’re pretty preliminary as far as even looking at those right now,” he said. Compensation The 2015 buffer law relies on federal, state, and local programs to provide financial support to landowners to implement buffers or alternative water quality practices. Landowners may use federal Farm Bill resources such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Continuous CRP, and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to get buffers installed. State resources include the Reinvest in Minnesota easement program, Conservation Cost-Share, and the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. “Right now, the number one thing, the easiest thing to get into, is to go ahead and get CRP . . . CRP’s going to be one of the better routes to go,” Norman said. Compensation for buffers along public ditches, through the process of re-determination of benefits, was clarified in the new legislation to establish the basis of value to be land use prior to being planted to a buffer or implementation of an alternative practice. For example, if the ditch goes through an area that was formerly seeded to crops, compensation after buffers would be at higher rate than if the area had been grassland. • Page 19 Not much for complaints Despite the bill’s heated public debate, there have been few complaints at local SWCD offices, like Meeker County’s. “They’re just concerned, they don’t want to be left behind the eight ball and not be in compliance,” Norman said. For landowners in McLeod County, the public waters inventory encompassed some ditches that came as a surprise. “They thought it was a private ditch, and a lot of them are kind of surprised when they find out it’s a DNR protected water,” Freitag said. “I can’t say (landowners) are happy, but I haven’t spoken to anybody that’s terribly upset. I think it’s kind of a shock for everybody with it. I know there was one younger operator that was more frustrated that now the state’s telling him to do it and he was willing to do it before,” Freitag said. In Carver County, a few inquiries about the Conservation Reserve Program have come in, and a few criticisms. “We’ve had a few landowners that just wanted to express their opinion that they feel the buffer strip is a bit of taking of land. Overall, it’s been fairly quiet so far. I anticipate once the final DNR buffer maps are released, it will be a much hotter topic . . . and once we get a little closer to the implementation deadlines,” Wanous said. Wright County could see a considerable amount of land affected overall, Saxton said, noting there may be a substantial reduction in acres for a few landowners, but for most people it will be a small area. “There are many ditches that do not have filters, and there are a number of public waters that are closer than 50 feet,” Saxton said. He knows of a number of impaired bodies of water in his county, and said the buffer legislation will help stop erosion, sedimentation, and pollution. Landowners can expect to hear more about buffers as the final DNR maps are issued and SWCDs make plans to advertise options and help everyone get in compliance, Freitag said. n EXCAVATING, INC. Steve Burns Septic Systems Basements Hauling Road Building Wetland Mitigation 3470 Co. Rd. 21, Mayer, Minnesota 55360 [phone] • Cell [phone] • [email protected] We have a large inventory of starters, generators, and alternators for most popular vehicles, farm equipment, construction equipment, and recreational vehicles. Phone [phone] Hennepin Ave. Quality Service Toll free 1-877-237-3306 Glencoe, MN since 1981 [email protected] www.schiroo.com