The strategies to address water and soil quality in the farm fields in your community keep moving forward, thanks to a state grants award earlier this week. Governor Tony Evers announced $1 million in funding to 49 producer-led watershed groups in Wisconsin through the Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant (PLWPG) Program. Peninsula Pride Farms received $26,000 in funding from the program, which it uses to encourage its over 60 members to try different conservation strategies to improve water quality and soil health. Peninsula Pride Farms President Duane Ducat says the organization distributed more than $70,000 in cost-share dollars for farmers to invest in strategies like cover crops, split nitrogen application, and buffer strips. Ducat says it has been necessary for the organization to show area farmers that you can be profitable and sustainable at the same time.
The state grant comes at a time when federal funds for conservation efforts are frozen. According to DTN Progressive Farmer, the United States Department of Agriculture receives $19.5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and the Conservation Stewardship Program. Those funds were frozen earlier this year so that all Inflation Reduction Act-funded initiatives can be re-evaluated.
