$3.5 million grant for central Minnesota

The Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture and more than 30 partners received a $3.5 million NRCS grant to implement conservation measures on irrigated land. Coarse and sandy soil types common in irrigated fields can leach nitrogen and chemicals into groundwater. For more background on groundwater protection see the MDA’s Dealing with Nitrate in Groundwater webpage, and MDA's Nitrogen Fertilizer BMPs for Agricultural Lands webpage. The grant will fund a five-year project within 20 soil and water conservation districts and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. The SWCDs include: Becker, Benton, Cass, Dakota, Douglas, East Otter Tail, Grant, Hubbard, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Morrison, Pope, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Wadena, Washington and West Otter Tail. Partners include SWCDs, institutes of education, state agencies, irrigators associations, and businesses. For more information, contact Jeppe.Kjaersgaard@state.mn.us.