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 July 2026
Table of Contents
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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.
- Landowners with farmland located in a designated AEA who are interested in applying for a farmland preservation agreement are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Farmland Preservation Agreement applications (new and re-enrollments) that are submitted to the department by Thursday, October 1, 2026 will be prioritized for processing for 2026 tax credit eligibility. 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.
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2027 Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant Request for Proposals will be released in July. Watch for an accompanying press release and the producer-led Listserv for more information soon. Grant applications will be due September 15, 2026.
- 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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DATCP Engineering Services Survey AND Strategic Planning Survey.
Two surveys about DATCP conservation engineering have been shared with county staff via email. The engineering services survey is 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 strategic planning survey is for long-term planning of our Sections’ activities and services, and we ask that this one be filled out only once per county. We value your thoughts and feedback, so please take some time for each survey. If you have questions or think you should have received the surveys and didn’t, please contact either Matt Woodrow (matthew.woodrow@wisconsin.gov) or Kelli Neitzel (kelli.neitzel@wisconsin.gov).
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The Wisconsin Association of County Drainage Boards (WACDB), in cooperation with DATCP, has scheduled five educational outreach meetings in the coming months. All meetings will be held from 1-4 p.m. Invitations will be sent out to all drainage boards, county zoning administrators, county treasurers, and county land conservation departments in the next couple of weeks. 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.
- Dane County
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Dane County UW-Extension
Driftless Conference Room
5201 Fen Oak Drive, Madison
- Portage County
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Buena Vista Town Hall
6684 County Road BB, Bancroft
- Winnebago County
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Winchester Town Hall
8522 Park Way, Larsen
- Dodge County
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Dodge Administration Building
First Floor Auditorium
27 East Oak St., Juneau
- Annual WACDB Meeting
Monday, November 9, 2026
Portage Best Western
2701 S. CX, Portage
- 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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The next meeting of the Land and Water Conservation Board will be August 4. Waukesha and Florence counties will be presenting their five-year Land and Water Management Plan reviews. Additionally, DATCP’s Andrea Topper will deliver an educational presentation on nutrient management planning, including training, support, and Nutrient Management Farmer Education. You can register to attend the meeting virtually through the meeting agenda available at https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/About_Us/LandWaterConservationBoard.aspx.
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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 4675 for the Ozaukee County Distribution Interconnection Project in Calumet, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Washington counties, 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.
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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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Watch the recent Spectrum News 1 story with Nick Kleiber and the NOPP research team about the continued investment in nitrogen optimization.
- Reports from the first cycle of NOPP projects are available 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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