Livestock Environmental Quality Assurance Program
2011 Environmental Initiative Awards
Livestock Environmental Quality Assurance Program
The LEQA project involves public and private entities; agribusinesses, agricultural, conservation, policy and government organizations. The mission of the LEQA is to guide ag producers in meeting Minnesota's Clean Water Legacy goals. This consists of assessing on-farm natural resources, identifying areas that generate ecosysystem services and areas that are prone to NPS pollution. With this assessment data, activities can be targeted to enhance ecosystem services and reduce NPS, and provide the means for the ag producer to meet and account for these resource goals.
The LEQA was initiated by the livestock industry to provide its producers with a streamlined process that contains a "starting line" (on-farm assessment) and a "finish line" (resource management assurance). Upon completion of an assessment by trained LEQA technicians, the producer is provided an "Action Plan" that can be used by SWCD and NRCS staff to identify related programs. The assurance component gives the agencies and the producers a "finish line" and knowledge when they have acheived state water quality goals. An annual confirmation ensures that the data stays up to date and the process stays fresh in the minds of the producers.
In addition, these scores can be compiled at other scales such as watershed and well-head protection areas. This higher tier of information can be used by local water planners, watershed districts, SWCDs and state agencies such as MPCA and MDH to address their data needs of these larger geographical scales.
While still in the future, this broader governance model can also act as a common platform to address the "sustainability" concerns of food processors, biomass processors, retailers, liability insurers and other emerging environmental demands of the public and private sector.
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Tim Gieseke2011-03-04 04:50
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Tim
Last Name
Gieseke
Organization
Ag Resource Strategies, LLC
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Project Name
Livestock Environmental Quality Assurance Program
Date of Project Completion
June 30, 2011
Category
Natural Resource Protection and Restoration
Project Summary
The LEQA project involves public and private entities; agribusinesses, agricultural, conservation, policy and government organizations. The mission of the LEQA is to guide ag producers in meeting Minnesota's Clean Water Legacy goals. This consists of assessing on-farm natural resources, identifying areas that generate ecosysystem services and areas that are prone to NPS pollution. With this assessment data, activities can be targeted to enhance ecosystem services and reduce NPS, and provide the means for the ag producer to meet and account for these resource goals.
The LEQA was initiated by the livestock industry to provide its producers with a streamlined process that contains a "starting line" (on-farm assessment) and a "finish line" (resource management assurance). Upon completion of an assessment by trained LEQA technicians, the producer is provided an "Action Plan" that can be used by SWCD and NRCS staff to identify related programs. The assurance component gives the agencies and the producers a "finish line" and knowledge when they have acheived state water quality goals. An annual confirmation ensures that the data stays up to date and the process stays fresh in the minds of the producers.
In addition, these scores can be compiled at other scales such as watershed and well-head protection areas. This higher tier of information can be used by local water planners, watershed districts, SWCDs and state agencies such as MPCA and MDH to address their data needs of these larger geographical scales.
While still in the future, this broader governance model can also act as a common platform to address the "sustainability" concerns of food processors, biomass processors, retailers, liability insurers and other emerging environmental demands of the public and private sector.
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Partners
Who were the project partners? What role did each play in the partnership, and how did the partnership operate?
The Legislators passed the Clean Water Legacy bill in 2009 and directed the MDAg to develop a process so that livestock producers can provide "reasonable assurance" that they are meeting TMDL goals. The MDAg accepted a proposal from Ag Resource Strategies, LLC. In consultation with the stakeholders, AgRS developed an assessment template and assurance process. The consortium included Mn Farm Bureau, Mn Farmers Union, MSCA, MMPA, MTGA, MCPR & CCA Board, MAWRC, MDAg, BWSR, MPCA, DNR, MASWCD, NRCS & Mn Citizen League which reviewed and approved the process. Ag producers voluntarily registered for the program and paid a registration fee. AgRS offered training to public and private ag conservation professionals who then conducted on-farm assessments and directed producers to technical and financial assistance. AgRS gathered data, provided assurance documentation and compiled data at the farm and watershed scale. AgRS provided reports of the progress and findings. During the effort of developing this process, AgRS and LEQA technicians met with state and local governments to determine the most efficient and effective manner to use this on-farm assessment and planning process to locate conservation programs and target them toward the identified resource needs.
Innovation
How is the partnership and/or project goals, outcomes and process innovative or groundbreaking?
The LEQA program and process was innovative because it leveraged the skills and capacity of existing agricultural professionals to assess the natural resources of the farm operations while they were assessing the production resources. This was highly cost-effective due to the ag professionals existing, trusted relationship with the producers and their thorough knowledge of the soils, topography, cropping systems and financial goals of the producers. By using this on-farm human resource and developing an "action plan" local government staff could focus their resources and capacities and more effectively identify conservation programs that could be targeted to specific needs. Essentially, it allows the agricultural professionals to utilize their current retail skills and allows the SWCD conservation professional to "wholesale" conservation programs through the trusted farmer contact of the ag professional. The LEQA program was also groundbreaking, as it provided a means for individual ag producers to provide "reasonable assurance" that their land management would meet TMDL goals. While this assurance is not yet solidified, it is the first project developed at a scale that could be applied at the watershed and state-scale as it pertains to water quality assurance. The other groundbreaking result was to compile this farm-specific data at the watershed or wellhead protection area scale. This creates a "watershed intelligence" database that can be used by governments to track land management progress on a scale never available before.
Goals
Describe the project goals
The goal of the project was setforth by the legislators to develop a process so that livestock producers could have a means to provide "reasonable assurance" that they are meeting TMDL goals. The very broad, yet pointed goal, created several sub-goals. These included 1) developing an practical whole-farm assessment that ag professionals and farmers could integrate within their production plans, 2) developing an assurance template that was integrated with the assessment and would be effecient at communicating the resource management outcomes of the farm, 3) create a process that agricultural and conservation professionals could integrate within their existing workload. Specific goals also included to assess 100 farms (106 completed) during the program period and to provide certification assistance to these farmers to increase their scores. This is being conducted at the time of this application, but it is expected to provide additional assistance on 85% of the farms that recieved an initial assessment.
An additional goal that was not required in the legislative language, but was added to the program outcomes, was the development of watershed intelligence to guide the local, state and federal agencies on their goals at the larger landscape scale.
Outcomes
What were the outcomes of the project (if completed)? What have been the outcomes so far, and what are the anticipated future outcomes (if ongoing)?
The outcomes of the project was an assessment and implementation track that livestock producers could follow to achieve the state's water quality goals. This track allowed producers to identify all their resource needs at the farm level, develop a comprehensive application for state and federal conservation programs and implement these practices within the context that their efforts are meaningful and can be accounted for at the farm and watershed scale. More than 100 farms were provided an assessment and about 85 farms were provided assistance to improve their natural resource outcomes on their farms. A social outcome has been more productive discussion on the role of agriculture and the ability of agricultural producers and organizations to explain the positive benefits they provide to society as well as a means for society to describe the outcomes they expect from farmers.
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