Minnesota corn growers see partnership as solution
Minnesota corn farmers share the goal of protecting drinking water in Minnesota. Each year, Minnesota corn farmers invest their own money into research, technology, tools, and best management practices so they can continue to make farming more efficient with fewer inputs and greater productivity.
This week, the EPA sent a letter to Minnesota state agencies outlining a plan toward addressing nitrates in drinking water in southeast Minnesota.
Minnesota farmers have been making voluntary efforts to protect groundwater by employing best practices that allow them to grow more corn by using nitrogen more efficiently. Statewide nitrogen efficiency has increased over the past 50 years from 1.22 pounds of nitrogen per bushel of corn grown to 0.86 pounds.
A Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) survey conducted for the 2015 crop year found that 87% of the respondents in southeast Minnesota were not applying nitrogen in the fall. This was well before the state’s rule on application timing was put in place in 2019. The vast majority of farmers employ spring nitrogen applications as recommended by the University of Minnesota because it provides more efficient use of nitrogen.
Minnesota corn farmers have invested more than $15 million into university-led and on-farm research, education to improve nutrient use efficiency, and soil health practices to reduce the impact of nitrogen on groundwater. Investments began nearly 15 years ago because corn farmers value farmer education, environmental stewardship, nutrient management, and water quality.
Some examples of the way Minnesota corn farmers are making real impacts include:
Research
Nearly $2 million is allocated each year to research projects focused on nitrogen management, including projects that evaluate nitrogen rate, timing, placement, and treatment. Nearly $4 million has been invested in soil health and cover crop research and education and more than $6.5 million has been invested in education on nutrient management, including Discovery Farms, a farmer-led effort to gather field-level water quality information from different types of farming systems in landscapes across Minnesota.
Practices
Minnesota Corn helps farmers adopt and scale financially viable best management practices that are proven to protect groundwater. Minnesota Corn grower-leaders are currently conducting on-farm sustainability assessments working with a third-party organization. These assessments evaluate on-farm practices and offer customized cost-effective recommendations that can help improve sustainability, including water quality.
Policy
Corn farmers are active in supporting public policy, based on accepted science, that will protect groundwater by incentivizing farmers to speed up acceptance of new practices.
Minnesota corn farmers led a coalition of agriculture groups and The Nature Conservancy to create the Soil Health Equipment Assistance Grant at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. These low-interest loans can help farmers reduce significant upfront capital cost of new or retrofitted equipment and ensure long-term soil health practices like reduced tillage, cover crops, and nutrient management that provide multiple environmental benefits.
Minnesota Corn supports and participates in the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification program which recognizes farmers who implement voluntary conservation practices on their farms to protect water resources. In addition, Minnesota Corn shares information on grants and low-interest loans to farmers and local governments for equipment to enhance soil and water quality. And, the organization supports the Ag Weather Station Network, which delivers the local information farmers need to make the best possible agronomic decisions for sustainable production.
Partnerships
Minnesota Corn believes that solutions will be achieved faster and with better outcomes if interested parties work together. An effective partnership needs to involve farmers, policymakers and regulators, advocacy groups, and public and private entities that finance and scale practices.
Minnesota Corn has a strong partnership with University of Minnesota Extension agriculture researchers and educators. In addition to the funding provided to researchers, more than 1,000 Minnesota corn farmers have received certification through Extension’s Nitrogen Smart program over the past seven years.
Minnesota Corn is a founding member and champion of the Minnesota Ag Water Resource Center, a research and education center focused on working together to identify and address water issues.
And, Minnesota Corn actively participated in the process led by MDA that developed the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan aimed at protecting vulnerable groundwater resources, which was foundational to the Groundwater Protection Rule that went into effect in June 2019.
Moving ahead
Minnesota corn farmers are proud to be part of the solution toward protecting Minnesota’s drinking water as they continue to be an integral part of Minnesota’s rich agricultural foundations.
Learn More
Read more on lessons learned thus far at Discovery Farms
Minnesota Ag Water Resource Center
