By Sara West Nutrient Management Specialist Farming is an incredibly busy and complex business where you rely on others for their professional advice with the assumption that they have the same goals in mind as you. Communication is key in the success of any business including your farming operation. Nutrient Management is probably one of the more complex divisions of … [Read more...]
Conserving your land for future generations
By Aaren Mathison Conservation Technician Are you interested in protecting the natural resources on your land? Is your land home to an abundance of wildlife and plant diversity? Maybe you want to protect your land from development in the future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a conservation easement may be right for you. Conservation easements are … [Read more...]
Impacting conservation in the roll of SWCD supervisor
The Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Board of Supervisors are elected officials who serve a four-year term and are elected in the general election. The office of supervisor is a nonpartisan office and each supervisor represents their entire district. Supervisors meet monthly, discussing the business of the SWCD, setting conservation priorities, … [Read more...]
Time for tree planting – District Tree Program
By Sue Wiegrefe, Administrative Assistant Most people can relate to the relief of stepping into the shade of a tree on a hot summer day. There are many less-obvious benefits of trees in our landscapes – for instance, their role in reducing noise, air pollution, and wind erosion. Their role in removing carbon dioxide from the air and holding it in solid form helps slow … [Read more...]
Sharpen your environmental knowledge with Envirothon
By Aaren Mathison Conservation Technician Every year, the MN Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts organizes a comprehensive, outdoor learning event that is one of the state’s largest environmental education competitions for junior high and high school students. This Envirothon, as it’s called, focuses on aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and current … [Read more...]
Newest employees attend statewide training
By Sue Wiegrefe Administrative Assistant For three days in November, the three newest Fillmore SWCD employees took part in training along with their counterparts from around the state at training organized by the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). Laura Christensen, district manager; Nikki Shaw, Water Management coordinator; and Sue Wiegrefe, administrative … [Read more...]
Staying compliant with MN Buffer Law
By Anne Koliha, Technician A buffer is vegetated land adjacent to protected waters and is critically important to keeping our water clean, preventing erosion and provide habitat for wildlife. The MN Buffer Law that was signed into law back in June 2015 and amended in 2016 and 2017 requires perennial vegetative buffers of up to 50 feet along designated pr otected … [Read more...]
Local conservationists honored at State Soil and Water Conservation District Convention
By Anne Koliha, Technician The 2019 Outstanding Conservationists selected by the Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) was Johnson Rolling Acres of Peterson. They were honored at a luncheon at the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation District’s (MASWCD) annual convention held on December 10 in Bloomington, where Outstanding … [Read more...]
What’s in your drinking water?
Private well owners, public water suppliers, cities, counties, and anyone else interested in having their water tested for bacteria should stop by the Fillmore SWCD office in Preston and pick up a test kit. Fillmore SWCD is certified by the Minnesota Department of Health to test for E. coli in wastewater, sewage sludge, and surface waters (e.g. streams, rivers, springs), and E. … [Read more...]
Ag BMP Loan Program
The Ag BMP Loan Program •Provides loans for projects that help reduce water pollution •Provides loans up to $200,000 with 3% financing for a max of a 10-year term •Can be used with cost share programs •Funding possible statewide Who can get a loan? •Farmers •Rural landowners •Ag supply businesses What do we fund? •Manure storage … [Read more...]