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 June 2026
Table of Contents
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SnapPlus V3 Summer Webinar Series: Join the UW SnapPlus team, UW-Extension, and DATCP Nutrient Management staff to learn about SnapPlus V3. The first 45 minutes of each webinar will be a demonstration within the program, and the remaining time will allow for one-on-one discussions with developers. More information can be found at SnapPlus Version 3: Webinar Training Series
– Crops and Soils.
Each webinar will run from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on the following dates:
- June 2: V3 features for Silurian bedrock plans
- June 16: Annual updates
- July 21: Winter manure applications
- August 18: Grazing
- July 21 webinar – Incorporating Off Farm Waste into Nutrient Management Plans. We will host this webinar in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and UW-Extension. For more information, visit the webinar registration page. Or, you can view the flyer on DATCP’s website.
- 2026 Nutrient Management Regional Meetings have been scheduled. Five meetings will be held throughout the state. More information can be found on DATCP’s Nutrient Management Trainings webpage. The first meeting will be held on August 19 from 1-2:30 p.m. in Jefferson, WI.
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The next meeting of the Land and Water Conservation Board will be on June 2. Waushara and Waupaca counties will be presenting their five-year Land and Water Management Plan reviews. In addition, Brad Herrick, UW-Madison Lakeshore Nature Preserve Director, will have an educational presentation on jumping worms. You can register to attend the meeting virtually through the meeting agenda available on DATCP's website.
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The 2026 Agricultural Enterprise Area petition cycle is now open. Petitions will be accepted until Friday, July 31, 2026. Application materials for new and modifications to existing AEAs are available on DATCP’s Petitioning for Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA) Designation webpage. If you are interested in petitioning for an AEA during the 2026 cycle, please email DATCPWorkingLands@wisconsin.gov to discuss your petition proposal and to schedule your petitioner interview.
- All petitions must complete a recorded interview with a local champion and land conservation department personnel before the end of June.
- A draft petition must be submitted to the Farmland Preservation Program for preliminary feedback by July 1, 2026.
- Farmland Preservation Agreement applications (new and re-enrollments) that are submitted to the department by Thursday, October 1, 2026will be prioritized for processing for 2026 tax credit eligibility. Landowners who are interested in applying for a farmland preservation agreement are encouraged to apply as early as possible. We will continue to process agreements throughout the end of the year, but agreements submitted to us after October 1 may not be processed (drafted and sent to the landowner for signature) before the end of the taxable year. As you work with landowners this field season, encourage them to apply early so they can claim the tax credit for 2026. Completed agreement applications should be submitted to DATCPWorkingLands@wisconsin.gov.
- The Farmland Preservation Agreement application has been updated. The new application now includes an section to indicate that the application is to re-enroll lands under an expiring agreement. The new form is available on DATCP’s website. All agreement applications submitted after January 1, 2026, must use the new agreement form. Any applicants who submit agreement applications on the old form after this date will be asked to resubmit using current form.
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Delayed but still coming: DATCP Engineering Services Survey AND Strategic Planning Survey. The first survey will be all about gathering feedback on how we are meeting county staff needs and where we can make improvements. Anyone who interacts with DATCP engineering staff (or supervises those who do) is welcome to fill out this survey. The second survey is for long-term planning of our sections’ activities and services, and we ask that this one be filled out once per county. We want to take your thoughts into consideration so please take some time for each survey when you receive them this month.
- New GPS Surveying Guidance: county staff should have received an email from their DATCP Area Engineering contact last month about new GPS survey guidance. Make sure staff are following the guidance to help avoid issue with construction and other surveying moving forward. Reach out to your DATCP Engineering contact if you have questions.
- Engineering Reserve Funds Update: DATCP reviewed 13 applications for the Engineering Reserve Funds and was able to fund six of the requests. The award emails recently went out, and once they are accepted, notification to all applicants will be sent. Thank you to all the applicants and submittal of the projects. It was a difficult decision for the review team!
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April was a wet month. While none of the recorded rainfall totals exceeded the 25-year/24-hour around the state, drainage boards are encouraged to inspect their drainage systems to identify any concerns.
- The Wisconsin Association of County Drainage Boards (WACDB), in cooperation with DATCP, will be scheduling a series of educational outreach meetings in the coming months. If you have a topic that you would like to discuss or would like to be included on the WACDB contact list, please contact Richard Gumz, WACDB Chair, at richard@gumzfarmsllc.com; or Nancy Christensen, WACDB Administrative Assistant, at christnjc@hotmail.com.
- Please note that Wisconsin law requires that the board file a separate report, for the preceding fiscal year, on each drainage district under the board's jurisdiction. The report(s) must be filed with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; the town board or town zoning committee; the city council, plan commission, or plan committee; and the county zoning administrator, in which district territory is located. Unless the board selects a different fiscal year and notifies DATCP of the selection, the board's fiscal year begins on September 1 and ends the following year on August 31. If you have any questions please contact Bart Chapman, State Drainage Program Manager, at barton.chapman@wisconsin.gov or (608) 216-6433.
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DATCP will not have a CREP Intern this summer to assist with CREP easement monitoring, so we are depending on counties to help out. We will be sending out further information and encourage you to contact us with questions.
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The AIS program published AIS 4707 for the Foundry Ridge Lateral Pipeline Project in Walworth County.
- 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.
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Soil Health Community of Practice: DATCP is planning to launch a Soil Health Community of Practice later this summer! Contact Randy Zogbaum at randalll.zogbaum@wisconsin.gov if you have any feedback to share and/or would be interested in participating.
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Soil Health Field Days/Training: Randy Zogbaum 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. Email Randy at randalll.zogbaum@wisconsin.gov if you’d like to discuss soil health.
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Learning objective 1is to discuss what soil health is (and isn't) by defining some basic vocabulary and concepts.
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Learning objective 2 is to demonstrate how to assess and monitor changes and improvements in soil health on Wisconsin Farms.
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Learning objective 3 is to demonstrate how soil health systems can be implemented on Wisconsin farms.
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Annual reports are being analyzed, and the conservation progress report will be shared later this year. If you have questions or want to learn more, please email randalll.zogbaum@wisconsin.gov.
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Reports from the first cycle of NOPP projects are posted on the NOPP webpage.
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2025-2026 verified land units and eligible applicants will be credited by USDA-RMA on their 2026 crop insurance bill. Further program information is available at covercroprebate.wi.gov.
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