SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2006
Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter
- SA Newsletter Archive
- SA Newsletter Issue 1 2017
- SA Newsletter -- Fall 2016
- SA Newsletter Spring 2016
- SA Newsletter Winter 2016
- SA Newsletter Spring 2015
- SA Newsletter Fall 2015
- SA Newsletter Summer 2015
- SA Newsletter Fall 2014
- SA Newsletter Spring 2014
- SA Newsletter Fall 2013
- SA Newsletter Spring 2013
- SA Newsletter Fall 2012
- SA Newsletter Summer 2012
- SA Newsletter Spring 2012
- SA Newsletter Winter 2012
- SA Newsletter Fall 2011
- SA Newsletter Summer 2011
- SA Newsletter Spring 2011
- SA Newsletter Winter 2010-2011
- SA Newsletter Aug-Sept 2010
- SA Newsletter May-June 2010
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2010
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2009
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2009
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2009
- SA Newsletter May-June 2009
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2009
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2008
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2008
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2008
- SA Newsletter May-June 2008
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2008
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2008
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2007
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2007
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2007
- SA Newsletter May-June 2007
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2007
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2007
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2006
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2006
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2006
- SA Newsletter May-June 2006
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2006
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2006
- SA Newsletter Oct 2005
- SA Newsletter July-Aug 2005
- SA Newsletter May-June 2005
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2005
- SA Newsletter Issue 2 2017
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2005
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2004
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2004
- SA Newsletter Jul-Aug 2004
- SA Newsletter June 2004
- SA Newsletter May 2004
- SA Newsletter Mar-Apr 2004
- SA Newsletter Jan-Feb 2004
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 2003
- SA Newsletter Sept-Oct 2003
- SA Newsletter Aug 2003
- SA Newsletter July 2003
- SA Newsletter June 2003
- SA Newsletter May 2003
- SA Newsletter April 2003
- SA Newsletter Mar 2003
- SA Newsletter Feb 2003
- SA Newsletter Jan 2003
- SA Newsletter Dec 2002
- SA Newsletter Nov 2002
- SA Newsletter Oct 2002
- SA Newsletter Sept 2002
- SA Newsletter Aug 2002
- SA Newsletter July 2002
- SA Newsletter June 2002
- SA Newsletter May 2002
- SA Newsletter April 2002
- SA Newsletter Mar 2002
- SA Newsletter Jan 2002
- SA Newsletter Dec 2001
- SA Newsletter Nov 2001
- SA Newsletter Oct 2001
- SA Newsletter Sept 2001
- SA Newsletter Aug 2001
- SA Newsletter July 2001
- SA Newsletter June 2001
- SA Newsletter May 2001
- SA Newsletter April 2001
- SA Newsletter Mar 2001
- SA Newsletter Jan 2001
- SA Newsletter Dec 2000
- SA Newsletter Nov 2000
- SA Newsletter Oct 2000
- SA Newsletter Sept 2000
- SA Newsletter Aug 2000
- SA Newsletter July 2000
- SA Newsletter June 2000
- SA Newsletter May 2000
- SA Newsletter April 2000
- SA Newsletter Mar 2000
- SA Newsletter April 1995
- SA Newsletter April 1996
- SA Newsletter April 1997
- SA Newsletter April 1998
- SA Newsletter April 1999
- SA Newsletter Aug 1995
- SA Newsletter Aug 1996
- SA Newsletter Aug 1997
- SA Newsletter Aug 1998
- SA Newsletter Aug 1999
- SA Newsletter Dec 1996
- SA Newsletter Dec 1998
- SA Newsletter Dec 1999
- SA Newsletter Feb 1995
- SA Newsletter Feb 1996
- SA Newsletter Feb 1997
- SA Newsletter Feb 1998
- SA Newsletter Feb 1999
- SA Newsletter Feb 2000
- SA Newsletter Feb 2001
- SA Newsletter Feb 2002
- SA Newsletter Jan 1996
- SA Newsletter Jan 1997
- SA Newsletter Jan 1998
- SA Newsletter Jan 1999
- SA Newsletter Jan 2000
- SA Newsletter July 1995
- SA Newsletter July 1996
- SA Newsletter July 1997
- SA Newsletter July 1998
- SA Newsletter July 1999
- SA Newsletter June 1995
- SA Newsletter June 1996
- SA Newsletter June 1997
- SA Newsletter June 1998
- SA Newsletter June 1999
- SA Newsletter Mar 1995
- SA Newsletter Mar 1996
- SA Newsletter Mar 1997
- SA Newsletter Mar 1998
- SA Newsletter Mar 1999
- SA Newsletter May 1995
- SA Newsletter May 1996
- SA Newsletter May 1997
- SA Newsletter May 1998
- SA Newsletter May 1999
- SA Newsletter Nov 1995
- SA Newsletter Nov 1996
- SA Newsletter Nov 1998
- SA Newsletter Nov 1999
- SA Newsletter Nov-Dec 1997
- SA Newsletter Oct 1995
- SA Newsletter Oct 1996
- SA Newsletter Oct 1997
- SA Newsletter Oct 1998
- SA Newsletter Oct 1999
- SA Newsletter Sept 1995
- SA Newsletter Sept 1996
- SA Newsletter Sept 1997
- SA Newsletter Sept 1998
- SA Newsletter Sept 1999

College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences
Volume 14, Issue 2 – March/April 2006
Do you have a story you would like featured in the Sustainable Agriculture newsletter? Send your submission to misamail@umn.edu and we’ll consider adding it to an upcoming newsletter.
THE CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM
By now you’ve probably heard plenty about the Conservation Security Program—a voluntary 2002 Farm Bill program that provides financial and technical assistance to farmers in designated watersheds for practicing conservation on their working lands. And if you’ve been following developments closely, you’re probably dizzy from the many twists and turns this program has taken in going from the envisioned entitlement program to the gradual rollout of eligible watersheds. In this newsletter, we’ve pulled together some information about the current status of the program, as well as information and resources to help you develop a conservation plan—and keep records of conservation practices—whether or not you’re currently farming in an eligible watershed.
2006 Minnesota CSP-Red Lakes Watershed Eligible
Sign-up for the 2006 Conservation Security Program (CSP) will be held Feb 13, 2006 to March 31, 2006. The Red Lakes Watershed is the only Minnesota Watershed which is available for sign-up. The Red Lakes Watershed is located in Beltrami, Clearwater, Koochiching and Itasca Counties in north central Minnesota. To be eligible for CSP, most of a producer's agricultural operation must fall within the boundaries of a selected watershed. Producers begin the application process by filling out a self-assessment to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for CSP. Self-assessment workbooks are available at USDA Service Centers within the watersheds, and electronically at: www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp. You can print off the workbook, or use the new interactive workbook to complete the self-assessment online.
After completing the self-assessment, producers should schedule an appointment to discuss their application with the NRCS local staff to determine if they meet specific CSP eligibility requirements. For more information about the 2006 CSP Sign-up in the Red Lakes Watershed, contact Larry Voltz, (218) 751-1942 x 3 or larry.voltz@mn.usda.gov, Watershed Coordinator for the Red Lakes Watershed, or the District Conservationist located in your county (go to www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov and click on “Find a Service Center” at the bottom of the left hand column.)
Minnesota 2005 CSP Highlights
In 2005, seven watersheds totaling almost 3.6 million acres were eligible for CSP in Minnesota. They included Blue Earth River, Red Lake River, Redeye, Redwood, Root, Sauk, and Upper Wapsipinicom. Almost 5,000 people requested information. There were 564 eligible applicants. Typical enhancements used in applications were conservation tillage, energy management, wildlife management, and soil quality. A breakdown of number of Tier I, Tier II and Tier III approved applications in each Minnesota watershed is available on the Minnesota NRCS website (www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/csp.html scroll down to find “2005 CSP state story”).
A CSP fact sheet which describes eligibility for tiers and enhancements can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/pdf_files/csp_fs3_05.pdf
Be Prepared—Conservation Planning
Whether or not you currently farm in an eligible watershed, developing a conservation plan and maintaining records of conservation practices makes sense. Several years of records are required to be eligible for CSP. On a bus tour of CSP farms in the Blue Earth watershed, Bill Hunt, Minnesota NRCS State Conservationist said that when applicants were turned down, it was often because they lacked sufficient records. Tim Gieseke, Ag and Environmental Policy Specialist with The Minnesota Project noted, “While no one knows exactly what the next farm bill will contain…a farm operation that is well prepared for changes in the 2007 Farm Bill will have a marketing plan, risk management plan, agronomic plan, and a conservation plan.” In fact, USDA offered a pilot project last fall in nine states, to help farmers create their own conservation plan.
Tim is currently conducting training in conservation planning for Certified Crop Advisors and Soil and Water and Conservation District staff in south central Minnesota. Modeled after a Wisconsin training curriculum, the five sessions cover RUSLE2 (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, a software model that predicts long-term, average-annual erosion by water,) conservation cropping systems, on farm resource and energy assessments and Conservation Plan development. The trainings are partially supported by a grant to The Minnesota Project from the NCR-SARE Professional Development Program and a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant. The trainings will be repeated in 2007. Call Tim Gieseke, 507-359-1889 or tgieseke@mnproject.org for more information. Information on the Conservation Planning Training will also soon be available on the Minnesota Project website, www.mnproject.org.
What Does Success Look Like?
A fall bus tour of three Blue Earth watershed farms enrolled in the first year (2004) of the Conservation Security Program demonstrated that this program works for many different types of farms. The first stop was Edgewood Farms, a corn, soybean, and hog operation whose CSP contract includes conservation crop rotation, residue management and nutrient management. The second tour stop was J-Ace Farms, which also primarily grows corn and soybeans. The CSP stewardship practices on their contract included conservation crop rotation and residue management. Some of the CSP enhancement practices contained in J-Ace’s farm contract included applying fertilizer at or below agronomic rates, Soil Tillage Intensity Ratings (STIR), and spring pre-plant commercial nitrogen fertilizer application. The final stop on the tour was the Kluender farm, also a third generation farm which began transitioning to organic in 1994. The Kluenders grow organic corn, soybeans, alfalfa, buckwheat, hairy vetch, and winter rye. Since 1980, the Kluenders have used several conservation practices on their land—grass waterways, field windbreaks, shelterbelts, and other conservation practices to reduce erosion and improve water quality. Their CSP practices include using a conservation crop rotation, cover crop, field border, and windbreak/shelter belts. All three farms were approved at Tier I level in 2004.
In 2005, when the Sauk watershed became eligible, the Loxtercamp family applied for and received a contract for Tier III of the CSP on 150 of’ their 200 acres. The Loxtercamps milk 50 Holstein cows and use manure from the dairy operation as the primary fertilizer in their corn-alfalfa-small grain crop rotation. For more information go to http://www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/csp.html and click on “National Program Information”(Above information condensed from MN NRCS website.)
Resources for More Information on the Conservation Security Program
Minnesota NRCS:
www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/csp.html The 2006 CSP Information link contains new fact sheets specific for cropland, grazing land, orchards and vineyards, and fruit and vegetables.
Several nonprofit organizations in Minnesota have been working to implement and keep moving the conservation security program forward for years. They continue to provide information to help farmers enroll in CSP and also work on policy issues related to CSP. With the 2007 Farm Bill pending, it’s urgent that your voice be heard now—check out these websites to see what groups are doing, and how you can become involved.
The Minnesota Project
www.mnproject.org/csp/
The Conservation Planner newsletter is available in full text on-line and will keep up to date on issues in conservation planning, including the CSP. The website also has CSP enrollment fact sheets and educational information as well as policy articles. Contact Loni Kemp, Senior Policy Analyst, lkemp@mnproject.org, 507-743-8300
Land Stewardship Project
The Land Stewardship Project has a series of fact sheets on the Conservation Security Program at www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_csp.html#links They also have numerous policy articles and suggestions for getting involved to promote conservation in the 2002 and 2007 farm bills.Contact LSP Policy Program Director Mark Schultz at 612-722-6377, or e-mail him at marks@landstewardshipproject.org.
Center for Rural Affairs
The Center for Rural Affairs operates a "Hotline" to help farmers with questions about the eligibility and enrolling in the Conservation Security Program. The Hotline number is 402-687-2100 and it operates during open CSP enrollment periods. More information is available at www.cfra.org.
Resources for Information About Conservation Practices
For information about conservation practices, see “Conservation Choices, an NRCS brochure available to download at http://www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov/news/brochures/choices.html.
Or, to easily access the information by each of 30 conservation practices go to: www.ctic.purdue.edu/Core4/CT/Choices/Choices.html
Other excellent resources for information about conservation practices for your farm include:
Your Local NRCS Office—go to www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/ and click on “find a service center” on bottom left margin, or call St. Paul office at (651) 602-7900
Your Local Soil Water and Conservation District Office, go to nacdnet.org/resources/MN.htm, or call the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts at (651) 690-9028Your local Resource, Conservation District, go to http://www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/partnerships/marcd/contact.htm
Your Local or Regional Extension Office, go to: www.extension.umn.edu/offices/ , or call Extension’s Farm Information Line at: 1-800-232-9077
MISA’s Minnesota Soil Management Series:
In 2001, MISA worked with the NRCS, project partners, and Ann Lewandowski to produce five booklets about managing Minnesota soils. The booklets are packed with information aimed at improving soil performance—useful whether you grow a few acres of vegetables for local markets, or two thousand acres of corn and soybeans.
This series will help by providing the background science needed to monitor soil and to understand how you can modify general recommendations to suit the needs of your farm. Each publication contains sections that feature basic information, practical applications, and places to look for more help.
Titles in the Soil Management Series include: Soil Management (BU-7399), Compaction (BU-7400), Manure Management (BU-7401), Organic Matter Management (BU-7402), and Soil Biology and Soil Management (BU-7403). You can find ordering information or view each chapter in full text online by clicking on individual titles at: www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC7398.html, or call 800-876-8636 or email order@extension.umn.edu to order.
Dave Serfling—A Champion of the Conservation Security Program
We mourn the loss of Dave Serfling, Preston, Minn., a true conservationist farmer who both practiced and preached sustainable agriculture. He died Jan. 8 in a single vehicle accident in rural Wykoff, Minn.
The 350-acre farm that Serfling's father farmed before him was chosen last October for a regional conservation award by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. In nominating Serfling and his wife, Diane, for the award, the Land Stewardship Project called them "passionate, pioneering conservationists" and said their "diversified crop and livestock farm among the rolling hills of southeastern Minnesota is a model for conservation farming on fragile soils."
"Dave was very important to family farms and the care of Minnesota's farmland," said Mark Schultz, policy and organizing director of the Minneapolis-based Land Stewardship Project.
Schultz said Serfling's testimony before Congress helped bring to fruition the Conservation Security Program, which rewards farmers for soil and water conservation. The program became part of the 2002 farm bill. Serfling maintained that federal policy should support environmentally sensitive working farms instead of subsidizing farmers based on the volume of their crops. "You have one million creative farmer minds out there in the country," he told the Senate Agriculture Committee in 2001. "If you tell them the environmental results that you want and give them financial incentive to achieve them, they will find a way to deliver." (condensed from Star Tribune, Jan 16, 2006) Dave served as a founding member of the MISA Board of Directors.
MISA BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINATIONS
MISA seeks your help in identifying individuals potentially willing to serve on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA.) A term on the MISA Board is three years. You may nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the Board.
Beginning in July 1, 2006, the following vacancies on the Board will be filled: One (1) sustainable agriculture practitioner (e.g. farmers and ranchers); and, Two (2) University representatives with a demonstrated interest in sustainable agriculture (e.g. faculty, staff, students, Extension, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships.)
We seek to have the board reflect diversity, especially with respect to gender, race, student status, geographic area, and occupation in the membership on the Board.
The purpose of MISA is to bring together the agricultural community and the University community in a cooperative effort to develop and promote sustainable agriculture in Minnesota and beyond.
You can find more information and download an application or contact the MISA office at 1-800-909-6472. Please submit the application or nomination form to the MISA office by 4:30 p.m., Friday, April 7, 2006.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Minnesota Grown Marketing Conference, March 14, 2006, Continuing Education and Conference Center, St. Paul Campus, University of Minnesota. For more information visit www.mda.state.mn.us/mngrown/conference.htm or contact Paul Hugunin at 651-201-6510 or paul.hugunin@state.mn.us
Meat and Dairy Goat Workshop, March 18, 2006, Marshall, MNOnline Registration address: www.sfa-mn.org For any questions, contact: Wayne Martin – 1-800-909-6472 or Wendy Lange – 320-269-9617
Food for Folk, March 24, 2006, Fundraiser and awareness for the Food for Folk Project and to highlight sustainably and locally grown foods. For more information call Tim Dougherty at 612-330-1624.
Sustainable Tourism Meeting, April 19-20, 2006, University of Minnesota. For more information visit www.tourism.umn.edu or contact Nikki Hinds, 612-624-4947.
What we're about
This newsletter is supported by the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA). It's also supported by the University of Minnesota Extension Service, the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCRSARE) Professional Development Program (PDP), and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). MISA is a partnership between the Sustainer's Coalition and the University of Minnesota College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences (COAFES).
Send story ideas to the editor: Jack Sperbeck, 405 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Ave., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, (612) 625-1794, fax (612) 625-2207, e-mail: sperb001@umn.edu. Other editorial board members: Helene Murray, (612) 625-0220, murra021@umn.edu; and Bill Wilcke, (612) 625-8205, wilck001@umn.edu. Please send address changes directly to: Bill Wilcke, Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, 1390 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108.
Also check MISA's home page at www.misa.umn.edu.
Our mission statement: To help bring people together to influence the future of agriculture and rural communities to achieve socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable farms and communities.
To stimulate thinking and discussion about sustainability, we try to present items that reflect different points of view. This being the case, we aren't promoting and don't necessarily agree with everything we publish.
The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.