The state of Minnesota, along with USDA, plans to invest $500 million in the voluntary Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to provide financial incentives for landowners to permanently retire land from active food production.

The latest CREP calls for 60,000 acres in 54 counties in southern and western Minnesota to be protected within a 24.2-million-acre CREP area deemed environmentally sensitive by research reviewed by state agencies (see map below). CREP is a federal-state natural resource conservation program that focuses on the state’s highest-priority areas for achieving nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment reductions, for protecting drinking water, and for enhancing grassland and wetland habitats.

Angie Becker Kudelka, assistant director for strategy and operations with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, says the investment is “a big deal for conservation in Minnesota.” State officials worked on the proposal for more than a year. Two other CREPs were offered in the state more than a decade ago.

BWSR officials worked with four state agencies to identify areas of Minnesota that should be included in the latest CREP. Research reports came from the Pollution Control Agency, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture.

Multiple sources for funding
CREP agreements are administered by both the BWSR and the USDA Farm Service Agency. The federal government will pay $350 million for CREP, while Minnesota will be responsible for approximately $150 million. State officials anticipate monies will come from the Clean Water Fund, Outdoor Heritage Fund, Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and bonding.

Farmers who qualify for CREP will receive financial incentives from both the Conservation Reserve Program and Reinvest in Minnesota.

Over the next few months, BWSR and FSA staff will finalize CREP guidance processes and train field staff. Landowners will be able to sign up continuously for CREP later this spring. Kudelka says farmers should first visit their local soil and water district office to learn the details. Projects will be scored and approved for funding in batches, based on environmental benefits.

CREP is supported by a coalition of more than 70 local, state and national organizations and agencies. In state, it is supported by five agencies: BWSR, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

CREP has the support of nearly 70 organizations and agencies in Minnesota including Pheasants Forever, Audubon Minnesota, Minnesota Rural Water Association and the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts. However, no farm organizations are on the program’s supporters list.

“We’re appreciative that CREP is a voluntary conservation program, yet our members have concerns about permanent [conservation] easement,” says Kevin Paap, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation president.

When landowners sign up for the program, that land is set aside in perpetuity. Given how farming practices continue to evolve and advances are made in sustainable food production, land that is locked away today could be possible acreage to use in the future for food production. Acreage for producing food has been declining in Minnesota, too. According to FSA, there were 23.07 million acres of cropland in 2014. In 2015, there were 22.02 million acres of cropland.

“There’s nothing wrong with land going for conservation, but we are taking more land out of production,” Paap notes.

For more information and updates on CREP, visit bwsr.state.mn.us/crep.