Minnesota FarmWise, an innovative program to encourage conservation and protect clean water in the Minnesota River Valley, has won a $15,000 challenge grant in the Minnesota Idea Open.
The Freshwater Society and the National Park Service will use the grant to form a farmer-to-farmer mentoring program to encourage practices aimed at reducing soil erosion and the runoff of fertilizers and pesticides into the streams and rivers that lead to the Mississippi River.
View a video about the mentoring program. Read the Minnesota Idea Open announcement of the grant.
The Minnesota FarmWise program will identify the most vulnerable areas in the Minnesota River Valley, and work through existing community relationships to mentor, advise and implement farmer-proven and farmer-approved water-friendly practices that protect these critical, high-priority areas.identify
The Freshwater-National Park Service proposal won the grant through a public vote, conducted on-line and in person at the Minnesota State Fair and the Science Museum of Minnesota .Learn more about the Minnesota Idea Open.