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Soil and Water official outlines regional cover-crop program, announces Wabasha Forestry Day
Summary
Terry Peters of the Soil and Water Conservation District reported on a regional groundwater protection and soil-health initiative modeled on Olmsted County work, invited RSVPs for Wabasha Forestry Day on Feb. 14 and described a voluntary cover-crop assessment opportunity for producers.
Terry Peters of the Soil and Water Conservation District told the Wabasha County Board of Commissioners on a public forum item that local staff are pursuing a regional groundwater protection and soil-health initiative modeled on work in Olmsted County.
Peters said the proposed program would allow producers to choose practices and self-certify enrollment online while still permitting follow-up checks to confirm projects are completed and seeded properly. “We’re going for a little bit more flexibility in the program than kind of the, some of the, standards that we have to follow right now with NRCS,” Peters said.
Peters also noted that draft legislation has been prepared and that staff and partners, including Skip Langer and Jennifer, have worked with state legislators; Representative Jacob has agreed to carry one option and Peters and a smaller delegation planned to meet this week with Minnesota Department of Agriculture staff to discuss the proposal.
Peters asked commissioners and residents to send comments to his office and pointed to a related producer opportunity: a regional assessment program to measure forage and nitrogen uptake from cover crops, run in cooperation with university and Department of Agriculture partners. He said producers can sign up using a QR code or web link included in the handout.
Separately, Peters invited board members and the public to the annual Wabasha Forestry Day on Feb. 14; the Forestry Day agenda was included in the handout and RSVPs were requested.
No formal board action was taken; Peters concluded by offering to answer questions and providing contact information for follow-up.
