 April 2024
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Table of Contents
Soil and Water Resources Management (SWRM) Grants
- The 2025 SWRM application is available on the SWRM webpage and is due April 15, 2024.
- Until proposed ATCP 50 receives approval from the governor, legislature, and is published, the new practices are not available for cost-share.
ATCP 50 Update
- ATCP 50 has moved out of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules. This means it is one step closer to promulgation. A link to the webpage with all related documents is available here.
- Look for opportunities to learn more about what will change in ATCP 50. The Bureau will be providing information through our website and through upcoming events over the coming months.
Nutrient Management News
Land and Water Conservation Board - LWRM Plans
- Ashland, Barron, and Clark counties will be presenting five-year LWRM plan reviews to the LWCB at their April 2, 2024 meeting.
- Reminder: the 2024 annual workplans are due back April 15, 2024.
DATCP Drainage Program
As a reminder, annual reports for 2023 were due in December. If you haven’t already, please submit those reports to Barton T. Chapman, Drainage Program Manager, at Barton.Chapman@wisconsin.gov.
Farmland Preservation Program (FP) and Agricultural Enterprise Areas (AEA)
- Counties that update or issue new CoCs for Tax Year 2023 should submit updates for their DOR Spreadsheet to DATCPWorkingLands@wisconsin.gov. Updates may be submitted as needed throughout the tax season.
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NEW: Agreement holders with effective agreements signed prior to July 1, 2009 that have not been modified to meet current standards will be required to provide their agreement number when filing a claim on tax schedule FC.
If you have questions about the DOR spreadsheet or have questions with respect to any element of the FP Program, contact DATCPWorkingLands@wi.gov.
- The 2024 Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA) petition cycle is in full swing. Petition materials for new designation and modification to existing AEAs are available on the Petitioning for AEA Designation webpage. Petitions will be accepted until August 2, 2024. If you are planning on petitioning for an AEA this year, please contact Wednesday Coye at Wednesday.Coye@wisconsin.gov.
- On December 6, 2023, Governor Evers signed Assembly Bill 133, now Wisconsin Act 42, which makes changes to farmland preservation agreements minimum term lengths and increasing farmland preservation tax credits for all current participants. These changes went into effect on December 8, 2023 and will affect tax credit claims beginning tax year 2023. Check out the Legislative Updates to the Farmland Preservation Program handout for more information.
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
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File naming for submitting to the DATCP CREP SFTP site: Please be sure to follow the file naming guidelines listed in the instructions when submitting enrollment materials to the secure website. DATCP receives agreements, transfers, buyouts, and cost share requests to this site and the naming protocol helps ensure your documents get to the correct location and are processed in a timely manner. Below are examples of the file naming:
- Agreement Submittal:
[County]_[OwnerLastName][OwnerFirstName]_[New/Reenrroll]_[Submital YearMonthDate].pdf
Example: “Dane_JonesDan_New_2016mar28.pdf” or “Iowa_FoyTrust_Reenroll_2024apr22.pdf”
- Cost Share Request:
[County]_[Agreement#]_[OwnerLastName][OwnerFirstName]_CostShare_[Submital YearMonthDate].pdf
Example: Grant_3245_RolandTrust_CostShare_2024july07.pdf
- Landowner Transfer:
[County]_[Agreement#]_[OwnerLastName][OwnerFirstName]_Transfer_[Submital YearMonthDate].pdf
Example: Iowa_4284_NagelTrust_Transfer_2024june05.pdf
- Buyout Request:
[County]_[Agreement#]_[OwnerLastName][OwnerFirstName]_Buyout_[Submital YearMonthDate].pdf
Example: Sauk_3744_Weirich_Buyout_2024March20.pdf
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CREP Easement Reminder Letters to Landowners: DATCP is in the process of sending out reminder letters to landowners with perpetual CREP easements. The letters are being sent for easements that 1), had the FSA CRP1 expire in 2024; or 2), were last sent a reminder letter more than five years ago. The letters provide a reminder to the landowner that a CREP easement exists on the land, requires conservation cover to be maintained, and that a CREP representative may visit the site. Included with the letter is a map showing the easement location as well as a copy of the WI CREP Perpetual Easement Provisions Guide. DATCP will provide notice to the LCDs and copies via email when the letters are sent to landowners in their county. Please contact Hailey Roessler at Hailey.Roessler@wisconsin.gov if you have questions.
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Virtual CREP 101 training is offered by DATCP to all CREP counties. The training is offered per LCD request and reviews program requirements, landowner engagement, agency partnership coordination, and county administrative processes. All local agency partners are invited to attend, and the training is valuable to both new and seasoned local CREP staff. Please contact Brian Loeffelholz at Brian.Loeffelholz@wisconsin.gov to set up a time for training in your county.
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Agricultural Impact Statement (AIS) Program
The AIS program published AIS 4559 for the New Cylon 161 kV Substation in St. Croix County, WI. You can find more information about the AIS program at agimpact.wi.gov. You can also contact DATCPAgImpactStatements@wi.gov with questions regarding any active AIS statement or the AIS program.
Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant (PLWPG) Program
- Dani Heisler has been hired as the new PLWPG program manager. You can reach Dani at Dani.Heisler@Wisconsin.gov or at (608) 640-7270. Welcome, Dani!
- We have funding for groups to host regional winter workshops or spring field days in the range of $500-$1,500 per event through the Producer-Led Regional Network effort. Contact your regional coordinator or Randy Zogbaum at Randalll.Zogbaum@wisconsin.gov for more information or if you have ideas for a shared, collaborative event to host with other groups in your region.
Soil Health Program
The new online Soil Health curriculum is now live and available on our soilhealthtraining.wi.gov website. The purpose of this curriculum is to develop a common definition and understanding of Soil Health and develop some guideposts of how to implement soil health systems on Wisconsin farms. The curriculum will assist in developing a common language of Soil Health in Wisconsin agriculture in modules 1-3 while module 4 focuses on applying soil health in Wisconsin cropping systems. The curriculum will incorporate both traditional and citizen science to demonstrate the mindset necessary to be successful as a soil health farmer. The primary audiences are LCD staff, other agriculture professionals in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin farmers, though community members may also be interested in the training.
The first objective is to discuss what soil health is (and isn’t) by defining some basic vocabulary and concepts! The second objective is to demonstrate how soil health systems can be implemented on Wisconsin farms.
For questions regarding this training or the soil health program, contact Randy Zogbaum at Randalll.Zogbaum@wisconsin.gov.
Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program (NOPP)
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- Eighteen projects were selected for 2024 NOPP awards, totaling $1,000,000.
- NOPP program staff would like to meet with any groups interested in learning more about on-farm research and how to put together your own research plan before the winter 2024 application cycle.
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Cover Crop Insurance Rebate Program
- The 2023 cover crop insurance rebate program closed January 31, 2024. Program applications exceeded 160,000 acres. The enrollment information has been shared with USDA/Risk Management Agency for verification.
- DATCP will be reaching out to some applicants to clarify duplicate submissions or potential errors.
Legislation Updates
The 2023-2024 Legislative Session ended in mid-March.
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Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Division of Agricultural Resource Management
Bureau of Land and Water Resources
2811 Agriculture Dr.
P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708
https://www.datcp.wi.gov
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