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Richland County staff to increase farmland-preservation compliance inspections; nutrient-management training planned
Summary
County conservation staff said they will step up compliance inspections for farmland-preservation participants, may issue more notices of noncompliance, and are arranging a nutrient-management training with UW Extension to help producers meet plan requirements.
Corey Rogers, the countyconservation technician, told the Natural Resources Committee the county will increase compliance inspections for the farmland-preservation program and said staff will issue notices of noncompliance where plans are missing or standards are not met.
Rogers said the program requires inspecting roughly a quarter of participating farms each year; the office is retooling the inspection plan by township and will step up spot checks. Producers found to be out of compliance will generally receive a timetable to return to compliance (Rogers said the committee should expect roughly a year in many cases), with a formal notice of noncompliance and a committee review only if the producer does not meet the schedule. Rogers also said there are roughly 400 certificates of compliance in the county database but that duplicate or inconsistent owner names make exact counts difficult.
Staff described several monitoring priorities: verifying nutrient-management plans for land enrolled in the farmland-preservation program, checking manure/winter storage practices, and monitoring perpetual conservation easements that moved from federal 15-year contracts (CRP) into perpetual state or county easements. The committee heard that some new owners have returned easemented land to cropping; staff and a DNR/USDA partner are visiting easement properties, resetting boundary markers and sending compliance letters when invasive vegetation or other issues are identified.
Rogers said the county will pursue a farmer education course in partnership with UW Extension so producers can prepare their own nutrient-management plans. Anastasia, the regional crops and soils educator with Extension, introduced herself to the committee and offered assistance in setting up the course so producers can write plans without hiring outside planners.
Staff also reported closer coordination with state sanitary and inspection personnel and said they would resume more frequent on-site checks for septic and sanitary installations to reduce sloppy installations and public-safety liabilities.
Rogers and staff cautioned that an initial uptick in notices is likely as the program restores routine compliance checks, but they emphasized that most instances will be resolved through education and time-limited corrective plans rather than immediate penalties.
