Record cover crop acres in Butler County

A record number of 4,597 acres of cover crops were seeded in 2017 using federal Environmental Quality Incentives program (EQIP) and state Water Quality Incentives Program (WQIP) funding in Butler County, according to District Conservationist Lawrence Green.
     “And that’s just government programs,” said Green at a meeting of the Butler County Supervisors January 8. “More acres were seeded voluntarily. It was a good year.”
     Eight new EQIP cover crop contracts were written in 2017, obligating over $180,705 in funding.
     An area of focus for promoting no-till cover crops in 2018 will be the North Beaver Creek Watershed. The Middle Cedar Watershed Authority will work on conservation planning for the area. Input will be gathered from landowners in the watershed, and public meetings will be held to ascertain if there is sufficient interest in the area to apply for grants and project funds for cover crops in the watershed.

 
Read more in the January 18 edition of the STAR or Tribune.