Farm Programs Support Permanent Prairies, Wetlands and Sensitive Groundwater

MOWER COUNTY—A new record number of Mower County cropland and floodplain acres are getting enrolled for permanent restoration into native prairie or wetlands that support water quality and wildlife habitat. 

After setting a one-year record of 407 acres in 2024, Mower Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) recently received state approval for enrolling another 457 acres of cropland into permanent conservation easements. Prior to last year, Mower’s highest enrollment for permanent conservation was 351 acres in 2006. 

“We continue to see great interest in these programs, and we’re excited to help landowners apply because the restorations are permanent while keeping the land privately owned,” said James Fett, a Mower SWCD technician who leads signups in Mower County. 

“Combined, these acres enrolled over the past two decades provide so much benefit to habitat and water quality.”

Former cropland restored to native prairie and wetlands along Mower County’s Wolf Creek, which is stocked every spring with rainbow trout by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. This property was restored through the MN CREP program with Mower Soil and Water Conservation District. (Photo courtesy Mower SWCD)

This past year, Mower SWCD received significant support for Minnesota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and Reinvest In Minnesota (RIM) program signups from the national Pheasants Forever organization based in Minnesota by providing local staff to help landowners submit applications. 

“Without the help of Pheasants Forever providing funding and staff, our office would not have achieved this level of success,” Fett said, “and we’re very grateful for their continuing commitment to habitat restoration that goes back many years.”

Approximately one-third of this year’s enrollments will benefit the Root River and Upper Iowa River watersheds in eastern Mower County, while the majority – nearly 377 acres – are in the Cedar River watershed.

Stormwater fills the Ault-Penkova CREP project in Mower County’s Lansing Township. (Photo courtesy Mower SWCD)

Overall, 11 contracts have been approved with 10 landowners this year through the federal-state MN CREP program started in 2017 and the state’s RIM program that originated in the 1980s. Some sites are established native prairie already while others will be restored in the next one to three years.Udolpho Township – just south of Blooming Prairie in Mower County’s northwest corner – continued in 2025 to be the township with the most enrollments in permanent conservation.

CRP, RIM, CREP programs

Managed by the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR), the RIM program is a critical component of the state’s efforts to improve water quality by reducing soil erosion as well as the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen entering waterways. RIM also aims to improve wildlife habitat and lessen the effects of flooding on private lands. 

Landowners enrolled in RIM are compensated for granting conservation easements and establishing native vegetation habitat on economically marginal, flood-prone, environmentally sensitive or highly erodible lands.

MN CREP combines the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with the state’s RIM program. Landowners accepted in MN CREP enroll acres in CRP for 14 to 15 years. At the same time, the land is put into a permanent RIM easement. 

“Landowners of flood-prone cropland that doesn’t produce good crop yields or has challenges with soil erosion likely can fit into one of these programs and get paid well at the same time,” Fett said.

HOUSTON COUNTY—Meanwhile, two counties east of Mower, producers in several Houston County townships are being invited to develop conservation practices to address nitrate concerns in groundwater at the township scale. 

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has been working with producers in Black Hammer, Caledonia, Mayville and Wilmington Townships to offer technical and financial assistance to local producers. In addition to the MDA, the initiative’s partners include the Root River Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 

This effort follows the work completed in Spring Grove Township where numerous conservation projects are being developed after a successful outreach effort earlier this year. Given the connection between surface and groundwater in Southeast Minnesota, there is a concerted effort to address the effects of nitrogen management on groundwater resources. 

The 2025 fall harvest is well underway across Southeast Minnesota giving producers an “eyeball look” of how their fields might benefit from additional conservation projects. (Photo by Renee Bergstrom)

Township testing results from 2020 showed that 10% or more of private wells in Black Hammer, Caledonia, Mayville, Spring Grove and Wilmington Township tested over the nitrate Health Risk Limit (HRL) of 10 mg/L. As part of the Township Testing Program, 576 private wells in ten Houston County townships were sampled for nitrate-N. As a next step in Minnesota’s Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan (NFMP), the MDA is focusing on farms located in townships where 10% or more of the wells test over the HRL. 

As livestock are an important facet of agriculture in Houston County, this effort includes opportunities to manage the nutrients produced on livestock farms. Producers in need of manure storage, roof structures or nutrient management may have opportunities to address those needs. 

Operators with feedlot facilities where generational transition of the farm operation is taking place or will be happening in the next few years may benefit from financial support available through this program.

The goal of the program is to address any resource concerns that may need attention. The SWCD and the NRCS will assist with the design and implementation of practices, and work to provide cost share assistance as there are many opportunities to offset the cost of conservation practices through federal and state dollars. Producers will be able to apply for the financial assistance that makes the most sense for their farm.

The health of Southeast Minnesota’s waterways and groundwater supplies benefit from ag producer initiatives ranging from nutrient management to improved land erosion and runoff projects. (Photo by Renee Bergstrom)

In addition to helping local farmers with their high priority areas, projects will also incorporate the University of Minnesota’s recommendations for nitrogen use in Southeast Minnesota.

Successful farming practices in the rolling hills of Houston County come with plenty of challenges. From contour farming and crop rotation to the use of grassed waterways and manure management, these groups are helping farmers in Houston County to minimize nutrient and sediment losses. 

Story edited for Root River Current by John Gaddo.