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Olmsted pilot credited with reducing nitrate; lawmakers hear proposal to expand soil-health groundwater program regionally
Summary
County-led soil-health initiative in Olmsted County paid on outcomes (e.g., 12-inch cover-crop growth) and reported reductions in tile-nitrate samples; proponents urged expansion across Southeast Minnesota and asked committee to fund or authorize regional roll-out.
Representative Smith introduced House File 2916 and ceded time to Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District staff and local farmers to present results from the county’s groundwater protection and soil-health initiative and to request expansion across Southeast Minnesota.
Skip Langer, Olmsted County soil-conservation manager, said the program began as a local response to rising costs for homeowners drilling deeper wells to avoid nitrate-contaminated water and to tile-sampling results that showed elevated nitrate across Southeast Minnesota. Olmsted’s pilot used outcome-based payments (for example, cover crops that reach a 12-inch minimum growth standard) and a flexible menu of practices including cover crops, small grains (e.g., oats), haying/grazing options and multi-species covers.
Langer presented program participation figures: 66 producers in 2023, 113 in 2024 and 18 already signed in 2025 at the time of testimony, with cumulative certified cover-crop acres reported and an observed 27% reduction in nitrate from Rice Creek tile samples over a multi-year sampling period. He described a temporary funding source (ARPA funds) that helped kick-start the pilot and said outcome-based verification and farmer panel vetting encouraged adoption.
Local farmers Kevin Connolly and Jeff Pagel testified about the program’s agronomic and economic benefits: improved water infiltration, reduced wind and water erosion, adoption of small grains creating new markets, and the ability to use cover-crop biomass for feed and bedding. Connolly said tile sampling in areas with cover crops produced nitrate readings often well below the 10-ppm drinking-water standard, while Pagel said the program’s incentives “defray the cost of trying new crops and practices.”
Representative Smith asked the committee to review materials in the packet, which included letters of support from neighboring counties and organizations, and the committee laid HF 2916 over for further consideration and potential expansion.
