 July 2024
For more information or to subscribe to this monthly update, contact Alex Elias at Alex.Elias@wisconsin.gov.
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
For a printable version of this newsletter, click here.
Table of Contents
Soil and Water Resources Management (SWRM) Grants
- The 2025 Preliminary Joint Allocation Plan will be presented to the Land and Water Conservation Board at the August 6, 2024 meeting.
-
The new practices included in ATCP 50 are available for contracting as of June 1, 2024. For questions about the practices, review Table 2.2 in the SWRM Resources on our webpage. As always, reach out if you have further questions and we can help you find answers. Visit: SWRM Grant Resources: Section 2.
ATCP 50 Update
ATCP 50 was published on May 28, 2024, with an effective date of June 1, 2024. Final rule language can be reviewed on the Wisconsin Legislature’s website. The Bureau will be providing information through our website and upcoming events over the coming months. If you have any questions, email datcplandwater@wisconsin.gov.
Nutrient Management News
 |
-
Second annual Nutrient Management Regional Meetings are back! Join us at one of our five meeting locations across the state to hear about new and upcoming information related to nutrient management planning and the SnapPlus software! New this year is a virtual meeting option. All events are free and will run from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. except for the Eau Claire meeting, which will be from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. In-person events will offer light lunch and refreshments sponsored by the WI CCA Board and Wisconsin Land + Water! CEUs will be available for each event! Find your meeting location registration information here: Nutrient Management Trainings.
-
The 2023 Annual Nutrient Management Report is now live on the Nutrient Management homepage. Cody Calkins will send out the 2024 Annual NM Survey and Calculator later this summer.
-
Counties that would like some assistance on Nutrient Management Quality Assurance Reviews should email Cody Calkins at cody.calkins@wisconsin.gov. We are looking at providing assistance this year to at least three counties.
- NEW! - We have restocked Runoff Risk Advisory keychains and magnets! Please reach out to datcpsoilandwatershedmanagement@wisconsin.gov to request magnets and or keychains. When reaching out, please include how many of each you would like, as well as an address to mail them to.
- Previous SnapPlus trainings can be found here: Nutrient Management Trainings.
Land and Water Conservation Board - LWRM Plans
- The next LWCB meeting will be August 6, 2024. La Crosse, Marquette, and Price counties will be presenting five-year LWRM plan reviews.
- The next meeting of the LWCB Advisory Committee on Research will be September 3, 2024.
Conservation Engineering
- For those in the DATCP Engineering Practitioner Certification and/or NRCS Job Approval Authority programs, we are passing along a reminder that this is the final year of the three-year cycle for obtaining your 30 professional development hours (PDHs). The deadline for completing the 30 PDHs is December 31, 2024. Reach out to your area engineering contact if you have questions.
-
DATCP is recruiting two Conservation Technicians: Southeast Area Environmental Specialist and Environmental Specialist (Project Position located in the Central part of the state). Applications are due July 15. Please visit Wisc.Jobs and search for this Job ID:14734 (two positions, posted together) to complete your application for this posting.
DATCP Drainage Program
All activities within drainage districts are managed and administered by a County Drainage Board. Contact information can be found on the Drainage Program website here or contact Barton T. Chapman, Drainage Program Manager, at Barton.Chapman@Wisconsin.gov.
Farmland Preservation Program (FP) and Agricultural Enterprise Areas (AEA)
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
Mackenzie Shanahan has joined DATCP as the CREP intern to focus on assisting LCDs with completing CREP easement site visits and record keeping. Site visits are essential for benchmarking the status of the conservation practice and identifying and communicating to landowners issues on the site prior to them becoming severe. Over the past three years, many counties have taken advantage of the assistance offered by the CREP interns and Mackenzie is eager to assist the LCDs again this year. See message below invitation from Mackenzie with her contact information:
My name is Mackenzie Shanahan, and I am the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program intern for summer 2024. I graduated from UW-Madison this spring with a degree in environmental sciences and agricultural and applied economics. Through my degree, I was able to work on case study projects related to CREP, so I am excited to both expand my knowledge and to apply what I have learned. Throughout the summer, I will be completing CREP easement monitoring visits to verify landowner compliance with conservation plans. I will be reaching out to schedule these site visits and to provide any necessary information and paperwork. I will bring any necessary equipment and will also provide follow-up paperwork after the visit. I am looking forward to promoting responsible water and land resource usage and to encouraging conservation in agriculture! Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns via email: mackenzie.shanahan@wisconsin.gov or by phone: (608) 444-3209. Thanks so much, and I look forward to working with you all!
Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant (PLWPG) Program
The 2025 application period for Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants is now open. The Request for Proposals and the application form can be found on our webpage: Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants. Applications will be due by 5:00 p.m. on September 13, 2024. Please reach out to Dani Heisler at dani.heisler@wisconsin.gov if you have questions about the application.
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. Module 4 will focus 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. Secondary audience would potentially be community members. 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.
Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program (NOPP)
 |
|
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. |
Cover Crop Insurance Rebate Program
The application period is closed until December 2024. To quality, cover crops must be planted in the fall of 2024 on fields to be cropped in spring 2025. The acres cannot receive cover crop funding support during this same time.
Legislation Updates
The 2023-2024 Legislative Session ended in mid-March.
Back to top
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Division of Agricultural Resource Management
Bureau of Land and Water Resources
2811 Agriculture Dr.
PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708
https://www.datcp.wi.gov
|
