Minnesota

The Minnesota pilot will be led by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, supported by the Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota Soil Health Coalition, Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association, Renewing the Countryside, and Sustainable Farming Association.

To enroll in the Alliance, farm must be located within one of the following counties:

• Fillmore County
• Kandiyohi County
• Redwood County
• Stevens County

The Alliance is open to agricultural producers within the participating counties listed above.

Producers are allowed to enroll as many Farm Service Agency farm numbers as they are able, as long as the total enrolled land does not exceed 160 acres or animal units.

Eligible producers will:

• Enroll a minimum of (3) acres or (10) animal units at an operation located within one of the approved participating districts;
• Have a verified Farm Service Agency (FSA) number;
• Confirm that the land enrolled and the practice(s) requested will not also be enrolled in a USDA conservation program or other program associated with USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers initiative;
• Confirm that the land enrolled and the practice(s) requested will not be dually enrolled in a cost-share program;
• Confirm that the producer will have control of the land for the term of the producer agreement, and
• The producer must consent to report total greenhouse gas benefits using COMET, Fieldprint and/or RUSLE2.

Applications will be at www.allianceforcsa.org during the open enrollment period. Hard copies will be available at district offices.

Qualifying practices have been selected from the USDA-NRCS list of conservation practices, linked below.  Enrolled producers will self-verify the planning and implementation of practices using the Alliance Practice Worksheets, which have been adapted from NRCS standards.  Click here to view the Practice Worksheets for each state.

Cover Crop (340)
Conservation Crop Rotation (328)
Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (329)
Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced Till (345)
Nutrient Management (590)
Feed Management (592)

This project will pay producers $100 per acre or animal unit per year. Only one practice can be applied per acre or animal unit. Producers will be able to install as many practices as they choose, as long as each practice occurs on different acres or animal units across the farm.

Producers will receive 50% of the payment upfront, 25% after implementation and verification, and 25% after final reporting. Underserved producers may be eligible for a 100% upfront payment. All payments will be issued by Virginia Tech.