Contact: Mary Juhl; mary.juhl@state.mn.us, 612-358-5733
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) will offer grants to Minnesota’s soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) to support the implementation of soil health practices. A total of $3.22 million is available for this round of funding.
Soil Health Delivery Funds support conservation practices that can boost soil health, such as no-till farming, planting cover crops and rotational grazing. These practices can help improve crop productivity and make farms more resilient to increasingly severe weather events. Soil health is a state priority to accomplish water quality and landscape resiliency goals.
“This funding will help SWCD staff meet the unique needs of landowners who want to integrate soil health practices into their farming operations,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said. “Giving farmers the support they need to protect drinking water sources and adapt to our changing climate is an essential element of achieving large-scale conservation and productivity benefits in the long run.”
BWSR is engaging all Minnesota SWCDs in a Request for Interest (RFI) process, which opened today and closes Oct. 15, to help refine funding needs within each county. Learn more about the RFI process.
These Soil Health Delivery Funds are one piece of BWSR’s long-term approach to supporting soil health programs statewide. BWSR has previously awarded more than $57 million in soil health funds in collaboration with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to support an accelerated soil health initiative. This initiative funds local efforts including outreach and education, technical assistance and conservation practice implementation.