Come November, 11 months from now, Minnesota farmers will be required to leave a 50-foot strip of permanent vegetation along waterways to filter runoff from their fields – a landmark conservation effort. However, Minnesota Public Radio says some county officials are asking for a delay because of confusion over how the law is supposed to work and a lack of money for them to enforce it.
Gov. Mark Dayton, a leading proponent of the buffer law, vetoed $10 million in funding for use by counties for implementing the buffer law. Roseau County Commissioner Jack Swanson told MPR, “What I’m hearing from counties, especially in the north, is if the money’s not there, the county has no interest in taking on that enforcement role.” For counties, the time for a decision is March, said Swanson. If counties demur, the state Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) has to take over the job.
“Another big issue for counties is how landowners will be compensated for land taken out of crop production,” says MPR. At present, buffer strips are eligible for enrollment in USDA’s Conservation Reserve, which pays an annual rent to retire fragile or environmentally important land. “But after the state buffer law takes effect, farmers won’t be able to enroll the land.” The BWSR says it is negotiating with USDA for a change in rules but there’s no guarantee of enough funding to cover all of Minnesota. And there are questions among farmers over what they have to do to create a buffer and if alternative practices to trap fertilizer, pesticides and soil washing off the land are acceptable.