July 2025

Table of Contents

• Nutrient Management Updates
• Conservation Engineering
• DATCP Drainage Program
• Land and Water Conservation Board - LWRM Plans
• Farmland Preservation (FP) Program and Agricultural Enterprise Areas (AEAs)
• Soil Health Program
• Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
• Soil and Water Resources Management (SWRM) Grants
• Rules

• NEW! – SnapPlus V3 Summer Trainings. One in-person training option remains still remains on July 15 in Eau Claire! We will also be hosting two webinars in July. For registration information, visit DATCP’s Nutrient Management Trainings website.
  
  
• The 2024 Annual Nutrient Management report is now available here: 2024 NM Update Report. The 2025 annual NM survey and calculator will be coming out later this summer, along with an office hour.
  
  
• Nutrient Management Regional Meeting dates and locations have been set for the end of August beginning of September. Registration is free and a light lunch will be provided by WI CCA Board. More information and registration can be found here: NPM Regional Meetings.

• We will be posting our Northwest Area Technician (Environmental Specialist) position soon. If you are interested, please check WiscJobs this month. We will also share this posting via the Land+Water ListServ and on Land+Water website when available.
  
  
• The last Hydrologic Restoration field training location and information is listed below. This is the last training in the Hydrology Fundamentals series of trainings that are being offered through an EPA grant received by DATCP and in collaboration with Wisconsin Wetlands Association. Registration is limited to 30 participants, so sign up soon! Additional details on the training and registration can be found at the link below:
  
  
  • Little Plover River Watershed (Portage County)
    July 17, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
    Stevens Point
    Register here by July 14

• The Wisconsin Association of Drainage Boards (WADB), in cooperation with DATCP, has scheduled four statewide outreach meetings. The purpose of the meetings is to engage the drainage community as well as landowners, drainage boards, and county officials; and to provide information on drainage districts and the implementation of Wisconsin drainage law. These meetings will provide affected stakeholders the opportunity to share their concerns and help develop statewide policy. All meetings will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. at the following locations:
  
  
  • Columbia County
    Tuesday, July 22, 2025
    Columbia Law Enforcement Center
    711 East Cook St.
    Portage, WI
    
    
  • Portage County
    Thursday, August 21, 2025 
    Town of Buena Vista Town Hall 
    6684 County Road BB 
    Bancroft, WI 
    
    
  • Outagamie County
    Wednesday, September 17, 2025 
    Town of Center Town Hall 
    N3990 State Road 47 
    Appleton, WI 
    
    
  • Racine County
    Wednesday, October 22, 2025 
    Racine County, Ives Grove Complex Auditorium 
    14200 Washington Ave.
    Sturtevant, WI
    
    
• All activities within drainage districts are managed and administered by a county drainage board. Contact information can be found on the Drainage Program website or by contacting Barton T. Chapman, P.E., Drainage Program Manager, at barton.chapman@Wisconsin.gov.

• At the August 5, 2025 LWCB meeting, Door and Iron counties will present LWRM plan five-year reviews to the board. Oconto County will present a plan revision. 
  
  
• On September 2, 2025, the LWCB Advisory Committee on Research will convene on Teams at 9 a.m.

• We are currently accepting petitions for the 2025 Agricultural Enterprise Area program until August 1. 2025. Due to the large volume of interest in petitioning this year, we are asking all potential 2025 AEA petitions submit a draft petition narrative by July 1, 2025 for a pre-submission review. If you are interested in petitioning for an AEA during this petition cycle, please contact Wednesday Coye at wednesday.coye@wisconsin.gov to review the petition process and schedule you petitioner interview. For more information on the AEA petition process, including application materials and examples of successful petitions, visit the Petitioning for AEA Designation webpage.
  
  
• DATCP’s Farmland Preservation Tax Credits webpage has been updated with additional information to help landowners and tax preparers choose the correct tax schedule when filing for an FP tax credit. If you receive any questions from landowners or tax preparers regarding questions related to tax credit claims or tax credit denials, please contact Wednesday Coye at wednesday.coye@wisconsin.gov. Landowners who have received a denial letter have a limited amount of time to file an appeal with Department of Revenue; timely action is critical.   

• REMINDER - Soil Health User Group: It has been a year since ATCP 50 was updated - what have you discovered? How do you evaluate soil health? Does your office have a Soil Health kit? If so, how do you use these kits? There’s a growing interest in soil health benefits, and these kits are a great tool to evaluate changes to soil health with the implementation of conservation practices. DATCP is looking for feedback on how we can better support soil health initiatives. Please contact Randy Zogbaum at randalll.zogbaum@wisconsin.gov if you have any feedback to share and/or would be interested in participating in a Soil Health User Group.
  
  
• REMINDER - Soil Health Training! Randy can provide or help develop training at any length or format for the summer field season. Below are three suggested learning objectives for soil health trainings. Contact Randy Zogbaum if you would like custom trainings to meet specific needs. Randy is also available if you have questions regarding the online trainings or the soil health program, email Randy at randalll.zogbaum@wisconsin.gov.
  
  
  • Learning objective 1 is to discuss what soil health is (and isn't) by defining some basic vocabulary and concepts.
    
    
  • Learning objective 2 is to demonstrate how to assess and monitor changes and improvements in soil health on Wisconsin Farms.
    
    
  • Learning objective 3 is to demonstrate how soil health systems can be implemented on Wisconsin farms.

• CREP Enrollment Update FFY2025
  Despite a shortened enrollment period this May, we still saw quite a bit of enrollment in CREP with over 100 contracts totaling almost 900 acres! Great work to all of you who reached out to landowners to let them know about their opportunity to enroll this year. FSA offices are continuing to accept offers for CREP to be considered for a potential future enrollment period. While you are working with landowners and producers this summer, please continue to let those with land that could benefit from CREP conservation practices know about the program and direct them to contact the local FSA office to get the process started ASAP. Also, please know that authority for CREP under the current Farm Bill ends on September 30, 2025 and there is no guarantee the next Farm Bill will continue CREP or its current provisions.
  
  
• CREP Monitoring LTE Assistance with Mackenzie
  Mackenzie Shanahan has rejoining DATCP as the CREP LTE this summer 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 about issues on the site prior to them becoming severe. Over the past four years, many counties have taken advantage of the assistance offered by the CREP interns and Mackenzie is once again eager to assist. Please feel free to reach out to Mackenzie (mackenzie.shanahan@wisconsin.gov) via email to schedule times to visit easements in your county.

• Kim Carlson retired in June after 39 years of state service. Please direct all SWRM questions to the DATCPSWRM@wisconsin.gov email inbox and Hailey or Susan will help.
  
  
• 2025 SWRM Master Contract for each county was emailed May 13. The contract must be signed by the authorized county signatory and emailed to DATCP. The DATCP administrator will sign the contract, and the fully executed contract will be sent to the county. Only after the contract is fully executed may payments be processed.
  
  
• FY2026 budget numbers are not yet available as we are waiting for the state budget process to conclude. We understand that you need numbers for your planning as well. SWRM staff suggests using your 2024 award numbers.
  
  
• NEW FORMS REQUIRED! Many of the SWRM forms have been updated with new content and new numbers. Please refer to Section 3 of the SWRM Grant Resources webpage to access these forms.  

• A Scope Statement for ATCP 52 Permanent Rule related to Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants general rule cleanup, and the incorporation of the Commercial Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program and Crop Insurance Premium Rebates for Planting Cover Crops Program is open: SS 046-24. 
  
  
• Emergency Rulemaking is also underway for providing Crop Insurance Premium Rebates for Planting Cover Crops and NOPP to administer the programs until a permanent rule is in effect.

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