Columbia County Land and Water Conservation Department (LWCD), UW-Madison Extension Nutrient Pest Management Team (UWEX-NPM), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) are partnering to offer nutrient management education. Come to our nutrient management farmer education (NMFE) training to develop an updated nutrient management plan (NMP) for your land that meets requirements of programs such as the Farmland Preservation and cost share agreements. These programs require the development and maintenance of a 590 NMP to remain eligible for program incentives.
In order to be certified to write your own NMP by DATCP, you must attend the required educational training at least once every four years. This entails a live webinar from UWEX-NPM about NMP development and soil health. There will be follow up workdays designed for you to complete and submit your own NMP using the free SnapPlus software. SnapPlus assistance will be on site to help you. Computers can be available, upon request at registration, for your use. Please, be sure to bring all the materials listed below:
- Numbered field maps with acreages
- Soil tests (less than 4 years old) uploaded into SnapPlus and map of soil sample collection.
- Livestock inventory (Number of each species / different size classifications / estimate of manure)
- Manure (Storage capacity & Application rates per acre)
- Updated crop rotation plan (most important down the road for plan development fine-tuning)
Don’t hesitate to reach out before the NMFE training to Columbia County LWCD with questions regarding the materials listed above. Columbia County LWCD may contact those registered, prior to NMFE training, to discuss pre-downloading the above information into SnapPlus.
Columbia County LWCD received a DATCP grant to allow educational stipends for NMFE training. Participants are eligible for one stipend per farm. First time NMFE participants are eligible for a soil testing stipend for land covered by a NMP, per farm. To qualify for financial incentives, Columbia County LWCD needs three things from you. 1.Signed contract upon educational training/workday 2. Completed NMP 3. Submission of complete NMP by July 1, 2024. Breakfast snacks and lunch will be provided during the NMFE training.
|
Location of NMFE Training-
112 East Edgewater St Portage, WI
Admin rooms 113, 114, 115
|
|
Required Educational Training Day
Wednesday February 7, 2024
9:30am-3:30pm
Workday
Thursday February 8, 2024
9:30am-3:30pm
Extra Workday
Tuesday February 13, 2024
9:30am-3:30pm
Makeup Day (by appointment only)
Thursday February 22, 2024
9am-1pm
|
|
**If you cannot attend these assigned dates, please contact Columbia County LWCD for options
|
Please, register by Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Due to room capacity, registration is capped at 25 participants and is available on a first come first serve basis. There is no fee to register and participate in the NMFE training. Once registered, Columbia County LWCD will provide more details.
**Additional NMP specific cost-share funds can be discussed, individually, before the NMFE training, since funds are exclusive to geographic locations in Columbia County.**
To register or have questions please contact:
Columbia County LWCD
(608) 742-9670
shaina.klosterman@columbiacountywi.gov
casey.bennett@columbiacountywi.gov
todd.rietmann@columbiacountywi.gov