Partnership Aids DNR Water Program
The Mille Lacs Band’s agriculture program received a grant this spring from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which is awarding the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and project partners $3.5 million to implement conservation measures on irrigated lands.
Mille Lacs is partnering with Central Lakes College and AgCentric, an Agricultural Center of Excellence for Minnesota State colleges, to install a watering system at the greenhouse in District I.
AgCentric Executive Director Keith Olander was introduced to DNR Commissioner Katie Draper and Agriculture Coordinator Jon Houle by Mary Sam, a community member who is Dean of Students, Equity, and Inclusion at CLC.
“The grant is a catalyst to grow our relationship to help each other,“ said Keith. “We’ll be looking at the Band’s food production assets — indoor and outdoor — and bringing education and technology to conserve water used to grow food. The ultimate goal is to increase the Band’s capacity to grow more healthy food locally for Band members.“
According to its mission statement, AgCentric “promotes innovative agricultural education by connecting education and industry to support lifelong learning, career success, and community leadership.“
The money is being awarded through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and will fund a 5-year project that is focused on 20 counties across the state of Minnesota.
Through the RCPP, conservation partners like the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) work in collaboration with NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners throughout the nation to implement systems that conserve water and soil re- sources, improve the health of wildlife habitats, and increase climate resilience.
The MDA project, “Implementing Innovative Irrigation Practices to Protect Groundwater Quality and Quantity,“ will work directly with agricultural producers using irrigation to implement conservation practices that protect groundwater and promote expanded precision irrigation practices. The MDA has partnered with SWCDs, educational institutions like Central Lakes College and the University of Minnesota, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, irrigation associations, and other public and private organizations to implement the project.
Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said, “Irrigation is critical for many of our farmers, and this money will allow us to work with producers and our partners to enhance conservation measures on the land that will ultimately benefit our water resources.“
“The Regional Conservation Partnership Program is public-private partnership working at its best,“ said Terry Cosby, Acting Chief for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. “These new projects will harness the power of partnership to help bring about solutions to natural resource concerns across the country while supporting our efforts to combat the climate crisis.“
The 20 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the project area are: Becker, Benton, Cass, Dakota, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Wadena, and Washington.
The irrigation project is one of 85 locally driven, public-private partnerships receiving more than $330 million as part of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
