Mower adds certified farmers in ’24
Ag producers earn state certification for supporting clean water in Minnesota
Feb. 13, 2025 — Mower County added three more farms in 2024 to a state-certification program that rewards those operating agricultural land in ways that protect water quality.
Since 2016, Mower County now has had 24 farms certified through the state’s Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP), a voluntary opportunity for conservation-minded farmers and ag landowners.
Including another 10 farmers who have crop acres in Mower County but are not based here, Mower County has 18,992 acres certified through MAWQCP.
Like all MAWQCP-certified farmers, they received a “Minnesota Water Quality Certified Farm” sign and are eligible for annual state grants of up to $5,000 to implement agricultural “best-management practices” on their farm.
This grant supplements the practice’s cost as an add-on after other public funds are applied not to exceed a total public payment cost of 75 percent. Some types of ag BMPs include grassed waterways, vegetative buffer strips, cover crops, proper manure management and conservation or reduced tillage, among others.
“We’re always looking to sit down with interested farmers to look over their operations and talk about how their conservation practices might qualify them for this program and its incentives,” said Steve Lawler, a resource specialist for Mower SWCD who assists with MAWQCP in southeast Minnesota.
Overall, more than 1,500 producers across Minnesota have been certified through MAWQCP with their farms consisting of more than 1.1 million acres.
Under MAWQCP, those who use and maintain specific farm conservation practices will be certified by the state and, in turn, obtain regulatory certainty for 10 years. This program aims to highlight conservation work farmers are doing already to improve water quality while also looking for the incremental changes farmers can do on their farms to continue improving water quality.
After completing a MAWQCP application, a certifying agent works with the farmer on an assessment process that includes an online tool and field verification on the farm. Compliance with existing laws and rules needs to be complete upon the signing of the certification agreement.
Once certified, MAWQCP offers five endorsements available to those producers: Climate Smart Farm, Soil Health, Integrated Pest Management; Wildlife; and Irrigation Water Management. These endorsements provide extra recognition to water-quality certified producers going above and beyond to implement conservation on their farms.
Producers who obtain the Climate Smart Endorsement will get a copy of the “Farmers’ Guide to Carbon Market Contracts in Minnesota” and are eligible for a $1,000 payment through the MAWQCP Climate Smart Farms Project.
Those who achieve an endorsement will get another sign for their farm and recognition for their conservation excellence. MAWQCP partnered with various nonprofit organizations, University of Minnesota, SWCDs and federal and state agencies to develop the endorsements’ criteria.
Certified producers get regulatory certainty, recognition and priority for technical assistance. Once certified, a producer can pursue any of MAWQCP’ five endorsements.
Through MAWQCP, certified producers receive:
- Regulatory certainty in that they are considered in compliance with any new water-quality rules or laws during the certification period.
- Recognition as they can use their certified status to promote their business as protective of water quality.
- Priority for technical assistance in which they can get specially designated technical and financial assistance to implement practices promoting water quality.
To learn more about MAWQCP, contact Mower SWCD at 507–434–2603, ext. 5, or reach out to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture online at: www.mda.state.mn.us
