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Auditors: contingencies are widespread and enforcement guidance is limited
Summary
The OLA found that many certifications include contingencies and that MDA policies do not specify next steps when producers do not implement contingent practices; auditors recommended discontinuing certification with contingencies or strengthening guidance.
The Office of the Legislative Auditor reported that a large share of certifications include contingencies — conditions under which a producer is certified contingent on later implementing additional practices — and that MDA lacks clear procedural steps when mid‑certification reviews find those contingencies unimplemented.
"MDA policies do not indicate what the next steps should be if a certifier finds that a producer has not implemented their contingencies," Caitlin Zenoni Wells told the commission. The auditors found that in many reviewed cases MDA allowed producers to remain certified after mid‑certification reviews revealed nonimplementation.
Wells said contingencies ranged from installing structural practices, such as grass waterways, to changing management practices, such as planting cover crops, and that contingency use increased between 2019 and 2025. The auditors recommended MDA discontinue certifying producers with contingencies or, at minimum, clarify and strengthen contingency guidance and enforcement procedures.
Commissioners asked whether producers on contingencies nevertheless received program dollars. Wells said MDA's grant structure can allow producers who begin the application process to receive funds; in some channels, such as reimbursements, payments are made only after documented implementation.
