311 West Gabrielson Road, Luverne, MN 56156
507-283-8862
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Our Mission: Protect our water and land resources by assisting Rock County landowners with understanding conservation rules and implementing best-management practices.

 IN THE SPOTLIGHT :

Commercial Animal Waste Technician
2021 Recertification

For 2021 Recertification:  
There will be NO in-person CAWT classes in 2021 (with the possible exception of one in late summer)
The online course will be available near the end of March. It will be posted here when it becomes available.  
If you would like us to contact you once the course is posted, please sign up here to receive an e-mail or text notification.  z.umn.edu/CAWTlist
​
2021 Course topics include:
  • CAWT Program and Regulatory Updates
  • Environmental Issues (Groundwater Protection Rules and Best Management Practices)
  • Equipment and Technology (Precision Farming Opportunities for Manure Application)
  • Crop and Soil Science (Soil Compaction and How to Minimize it)
  • Safety (Stress and Tough Conversations)
Requirements for recertification:
  • NEW applicators: If you have not been previously certified, you must watch this video and take a quiz for your initial certification.  
  • Certified Applicators: For recertification, you can either watch a video and take a quiz EVERY year OR attend a recertification workshop EVERY OTHER year.  
  • Site Managers: You must attend a workshop EVERY OTHER year.  
For online workshops, site managers and applicators must complete all activities, including reading text, watching videos, and taking quizzes as applicable to receive recertification credit.
If you have more questions, please call MDA at 651-201-6146 or email pesticide.recertification@mda.mn.us  

For more information about the workshop, please contact:
Brenda Postels, UMN Extension Educator
post0060@umn.edu or 320-203-6063

2020 Virtual Annual Cover Crop Tour
"Discover the Cover"
Cover crops are being re-discovered to help farmers with 
​profitability, soil health and crop protection against weather extremes.

Soil Health Specialist, Dawn Madison, interviews farmers about their cover crop experience in SW Minnesota.  
Click on the landowner name below to view the interviews: ​

Tom Fick
​
Brad Petersen

​
Brent Fluit
​
​Terry Aukes
Click on the Cover Crop tab above to access the Cover Crop
​page for more information. 

MN CREP
WHAT IS MN CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program)? 
MN CREP is a voluntary, federal-state funded natural resource conservation program that uses a science based approach to target environmentally sensitive land in 54 Counties in southern and western Minnesota. This is accomplished through permanent protection by establishing conservation practices via payments to farmers and agricultural land owners.

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON: 
How it works.
MN CREP Objectives
How the will be restored and protected.
Why enroll now? 
Enrollment - Contact the Rock County Land Management Office



CURRENT RENTAL RATES
Contact the local
MN-Extension office at 
​507-283-1302

​Crop Equivalent Ratios (CER)
Contact the
Farm Services Agency at 
507-283-236​9
​Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
​
Contact the local 
Farm Services Agency at 
507-283-2369

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2021 Calendar
March 15, 2021: 
8 am SWCD Board Meeting
Rock SWCD Office



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Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment
Click the logo for more info
​
Click here for
​Clean Water
Land and Legacy ​Stories
 

Quick Access Links:

NRCS Web Soil Survey

​GIS Viewer

Rock County Website

Information Request Form

Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) 

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)


Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)

Ag BMP


State Cost Share
​
​Building Permits
​
Tiling or Watercourse Clean-Out Requirements
    1) Tiling Application
    2) Watercourse cleanout 

Earthwork and Tile Contractors
​    

No-till Drill Rental

Recycling Dos and Don'ts

Household Hazardous Waste

BUFFER COMPLIANCE
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources oversees implementation of the Buffer Law, which requires farmers to have vegetated buffers along cropland that borders ditches, streams, rivers and lakes.  ​In accordance with the MN Board of Soil and Water Resources, Rock SWCD has developed a plan for Buffer Compliance Tracking. Click on the link below for further information. 
ROCK SWCD MONITORING PLAN FOR BUFFER
COMPLIANCE TRACKING

Large Energy Wind Conversion Systems
Permitting Process

Minnesota Rules 7854

*Timeline from application acceptance to permit decision is 180 days.
Click here for a flowchart of the process.

 MN Department of Commerce
Environmental Review of Energy Projects


The Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (EERA) unit conducts environmental review of proposed energy projects including power plants, transmission lines, wind farms, and pipelines.  EERA conducts environmental review on behalf of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission), and EERA’s environmental review informs the permit decisions made by the Commission.

Click here for the Department of Commerce and further information. 


Guides to Prairie Restoration in Minnesota

Restoring prairie just got easier. 

Many landowners and managers have land that they would like to see covered with native flowers and grasses.  But, creating a prairie is hard and often unpredictable work.  The techniques and types of seeds planted will vary depending on the current state of the land, how moist or dry the site is, and type of prairie you would like to establish. 

To deal with these issues, The Nature Conservancy and the University of Minnesota have developed 20 different restoration guides, each specific to one of five different types of starting conditions, two different moisture levels, and two different intended uses for restored prairie. 

​Each guide includes recommended techniques, timing and plant species, as well as estimated costs for completing a successful prairie restoration.  The guides can be downloaded for free at:

 www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/minnesota/explore/prairie-restoration-guides.xml

Grazing, wildlife habitat, and improving water quality and quantity are just a few reasons why landowners restore prairie on their land.  Find out what steps to take to achieve your restoration goals.




2019 OUTSTANDING CONSERVATIONIST:
CONGRATULATIONS TO DAN AND AMY LEUTHOLD

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The Rock SWCD Board of Supervisors and Staff awarded the Dan Leuthold Family Farm as the 2019 Rock County Outstanding Conservationist.  

They operate a third generation grain and livestock farm raising corn and soybeans, cereal rye for cover crop seed, along with 900 head of finishing cattle and 80 cow calf pairs.  Dan’s first year farming was in 1993, when he and wife, Amy were married.  Their sons, Mitch and Jerad, both have careers off the farm but are actively involved in the operation.  Over the years, the Leutholds have installed grassed waterways, a farmstead windbreak, feedlot runoff controls, use of cover crops in their row cropping systems, no-till, nutrient management, rotational grazing, integrated pest management and other practices. 

Dan graduated from Ellsworth High School and went on to the University of Minnesta – Waseca for 2 years to pursue an agricultural degree.   Dan shared that one of his landlords is a retired geology college professor who moved back to his own family’s farm in retirement.  Through this relationship he has with this particular landlord, Dan has been willing to try new practices including the seeding and grazing of warm season grasses in pastures along with more intensely managed rotational grazing in his pastures and on nearby fields seeded to cover crops. 

Dan has served as board member for the Rock/Nobles Cattlemen's Association and is currently a director on the Sioux Valley Cooperative Energy Board. 
 
Dan credits his father, his uncles, and his grandparents for teaching him a great deal about not only farming, but life in general.   Dan lives by what his grandfather told him, “Buy a farm when you are young.  Take care of it and it will take care of you when you get old.”
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