The South Dakota Farm Bureau reports that it recently met with the South Dakota Technical Committee subcommittee on wetland mitigation to discuss plans for the first-ever agricultural wetland mitigation banking system in South Dakota.

SDFB received a $75,000 grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop an ag wetland mitigation banking system – the first of its kind for farmers and ranchers in the state

Ducks swim in part of a field filled with water in the early spring. Acres like this might be good candidates for wetland mitigation.

"Mitigation is an important part of protecting the wetland resources," says Wayne Smith, SDFB executive director and a Moody County, S.D., farmer. "This will give farmers and ranchers an opportunity to replace a degraded wetland in a continuously cropped field with well-functioning wetlands that will be protected."

Others involved in the meeting included South Dakota Soybean Association, South Dakota Corn Growers Association, Izaak Walton League, Ducks Unlimited, Beadle County Conservation District, and South Dakota Natural Resource Conservation Service.

EccoAsset, a consulting company SDFB hired, presented a draft of the pgram, which included the structure of the proposed bank. "This included details on the process of mitigation, bank site requirements, the transaction process, bank service areas, and the technical details about the wetland exchange requirements including monitoring and long-term management," Smith says.

The wetland mitigation bank system is expected to be in place by August 31.

The SDFB, along with industry partners South Dakota Corn Growers Association, South Dakota Soybean Association, and the Beady County Conservation District, will play an instrumental role in establishing the framework for the mitigation banks and is working diligently with industry leaders to make sure the new system will create better functioning wetlands and a user-friendly system for farmers.

"This is a great opportunity for agriculture, conservation and wildlife groups, as well as South Dakota NRCS to work together to protect the environment while allowing the best land to produce food to feed a growing population," Smith said.

For more information on this project, visit www.sdfbf.org.