Spotlighting Minnesota’s Ag Water Quality Certification Program
When Nick Peterson returned to his childhood farm in Clear Lake to take over the family business in 2020, he knew he wanted to ensure that his family’s legacy would live on for years to come. That is one of the reasons Peterson and other farmers across the state have adopted a number of conservation practices in their operations, including the state’s Agricultural Water Quality Certification program.
The program certifies farmers for managing the land within their farm operation in ways that protect water quality. A completely voluntary opportunity, farmers and ag land owners take the lead in moving toward certification.
“We sought out the program since we felt like we were already adopting some good conservation practices and we figured that being a part of this program would help us to stay improvement-driven and to become more involved in that community,” said Peterson, who also serves on the Minnesota Corn Growers Association board of directors.
While the length of the certification process can vary slightly, there are some key touch points that are consistent among all applicants. The first stop is connecting with your local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). You can find names and contact information for your area’s specialist on the web page dedicated to details about certifying your farm, mda.state.mn.us/environment-sustainability/certify-your-farm.
Corn farmer and Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council member Rodney Moe, of Waltham, became certified in 2018 and said the SWCD staff were very helpful in moving through the process.
“We had already started conservation till and some cover crop practices at that time,” Moe said. “I think it’s a good program to show that you are using these conservation best practices to protect soil and water.”
Peterson agreed. “This is one of the best programs to showcase the improvements that we as an ag community have been making for the general public to see,” he said.
Peterson added that the certification process wasn’t difficult and said the program’s qualifications are broad enough to allow room for a number of practices to meet the criteria.
“Our reduced tillage was probably the biggest practice for us to qualify,” he said. “We do incorporate cover crops on some acres but not as widespread as this. We have a water management endorsement, and we use a variety of remote sensing equipment to make our irrigation more efficient,” he said of some of the ways his farm practices qualified.
Peterson and Moe both encouraged other Minnesota corn farmers to look into the certification program and said the first step is reaching out to the local contact to get more information.
“If the certification process results in seeing more corn farms adopt a few more practices to qualify, they should welcome the opportunity to further the sustainability of their operation,” Peterson said.
Interested in becoming a water quality certified farm? Find out more on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture program web page, MyLandMyLegacy.com.
