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Post by benmnwi on Dec 5, 2023 15:37:17 GMT -6
Later this week I will be meeting with a county NRCS employee to review what kind of programs are available to improve some erosion issues I have at my place. There are a few grass waterways that need to be repaired and they will also be looking at the possibility of adding a dike and pond in an upland area where erosion is present and spreading. The goal would be to prevent erosion, but I'm hoping it can be designed to hold water as well. Even if it didn't hold water, a nice dike in that area would allow me to reach a back field much easier than I currently can.
It sounds like there is some decent cost share % available depending on the type of project and the money available. I'm looking to improve the hunting and recreation the most, so a pond is good and erosion control should be good. Does anyone have any experiences with these types of projects and have any suggestions on what to look at or what to avoid?
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Post by badgerfowl on Dec 5, 2023 15:44:41 GMT -6
I'm an ag engineer. We did lots of NRCS funded erosion control dams/ponds 15 years ago. Not anything recently. I can't see too many downsides (other than working w/ the feds on doing something like that. Control erosion and get a pond out of it. Seems like a win/win.
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 5, 2023 16:32:27 GMT -6
I'm an ag engineer. We did lots of NRCS funded erosion control dams/ponds 15 years ago. Not anything recently. I can't see too many downsides (other than working w/ the feds on doing something like that. Control erosion and get a pond out of it. Seems like a win/win. My friend had 2 of these ponds installed on his farm and they both turned out really well. One holds some water and one doesn't, so both are great for driving access on top of the dam and for wildlife.
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Post by wklman on Dec 5, 2023 18:06:38 GMT -6
The guy that bought my old place put in 2 ponds/water catchments threw the nrcs I think. Whatever agency he worked with paid for a lot of the excavation and work. They were small but hold water almost year round.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 5, 2023 19:26:51 GMT -6
I put in a water control structure and it was funded 100% by EQUIP. I’ll attached a picture. It’s been a nice addition. My property is close to a lake so they really wanted it to slow down erosion and help with water quality.
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 5, 2023 20:01:32 GMT -6
Are you required to keep or maintain that erosion structure for a certain amount of time? Or are there any type of restrictions on your place after you have that installed?
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Post by badgerfowl on Dec 5, 2023 20:35:08 GMT -6
Just maintain it I believe. What’s the point of doing it if you aren’t going to keep it functioning as intended?
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 6, 2023 4:39:57 GMT -6
Decades ago I had two dykes put in under a federal wetland restoration project. Overall it was good. I was required to maintain grasslands and burn the uplands occasionally to maintain grasslands.
Now the edges are spruce, tag alders, willows, and apple trees on the upper edges.
I am glad the ten years are past!
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 8, 2023 14:04:41 GMT -6
I had a meeting yesterday with NRCS at my property and they said the erosion issues I have are very common in that area. They recommended building 2 dams near the head of my property, which sounds better to me than the one I initially was thinking of. They will draw up the preliminary plans and cost estimates, but it sounds like there is at least a 1 year waiting list. If the project meets a bunch of requirements, it may be possible for 90% cost share. It is hard to say if the dams will actually hold water, but they said many of them in this area do. It would really be nice to have a water source in that specific area and the dams themselves will allow much better access to portions of my property.
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Post by badgerfowl on Dec 8, 2023 14:48:14 GMT -6
That sounds about right. We've got projects that are going on there second try for funding/waitlist/etc.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 8, 2023 18:20:43 GMT -6
Later this week I will be meeting with a county NRCS employee to review what kind of programs are available to improve some erosion issues I have at my place. There are a few grass waterways that need to be repaired and they will also be looking at the possibility of adding a dike and pond in an upland area where erosion is present and spreading. The goal would be to prevent erosion, but I'm hoping it can be designed to hold water as well. Even if it didn't hold water, a nice dike in that area would allow me to reach a back field much easier than I currently can. It sounds like there is some decent cost share % available depending on the type of project and the money available. I'm looking to improve the hunting and recreation the most, so a pond is good and erosion control should be good. Does anyone have any experiences with these types of projects and have any suggestions on what to look at or what to avoid? I have done several hundred thousand dollars' worth of projects through the NRCS. Some with cost shares as high as 85%. 4 things to remember. First is the money may run out before your project gets approved. So you may have to resubmit next year if you don't get approval this time. Provided money is available next year that is. If your project is approved, you have to do everything their way. May be ok, may not. Then once project is completed you may have a maintenance schedule to adhere to from NRCS. And if you sell the property you have to get the new owner to except the maintenance schedule. The 4th item is you will be tracked by EWG as to how much your subsidy is that year or all years from the Gov for said project. Not a big deal to me or most guys but some guys are not happy with the world seeing the so called free money you are getting. Other then that, good luck hope it goes well for you.
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 8, 2023 21:07:42 GMT -6
I’m happy they were able to tell me what is available for cost share and what is not.
I’m having my bulldozer guy come out there tomorrow to see if it would be best to dig out the two old ponds this week or wait until next summer. It is dry now, but the frost in the ground could complicate things. Digging out the two old silted in ponds and cleaning out old logging roads aren’t covered by the nrcs work, so I’m likely going ahead with that on my own.
I want to have all this stuff done right, so hopefully if it is done right now I won’t have to mess around with it much in future years.
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 9, 2023 5:59:37 GMT -6
Later this week I will be meeting with a county NRCS employee to review what kind of programs are available to improve some erosion issues I have at my place. There are a few grass waterways that need to be repaired and they will also be looking at the possibility of adding a dike and pond in an upland area where erosion is present and spreading. The goal would be to prevent erosion, but I'm hoping it can be designed to hold water as well. Even if it didn't hold water, a nice dike in that area would allow me to reach a back field much easier than I currently can. It sounds like there is some decent cost share % available depending on the type of project and the money available. I'm looking to improve the hunting and recreation the most, so a pond is good and erosion control should be good. Does anyone have any experiences with these types of projects and have any suggestions on what to look at or what to avoid? I have done several hundred thousand dollars' worth of projects through the NRCS. Some with cost shares as high as 85%. 4 things to remember. First is the money may run out before your project gets approved. So you may have to resubmit next year if you don't get approval this time. Provided money is available next year that is. If your project is approved, you have to do everything their way. May be ok, may not. Then once project is completed you may have a maintenance schedule to adhere to from NRCS. And if you sell the property you have to get the new owner to except the maintenance schedule. The 4th item is you will be tracked by EWG as to how much your subsidy is that year or all years from the Gov for said project. Not a big deal to me or most guys but some guys are not happy with the world seeing the so called free money you are getting. Other then that, good luck hope it goes well for you. What is EWG?
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 9, 2023 7:51:26 GMT -6
I’m happy they were able to tell me what is available for cost share and what is not. I’m having my bulldozer guy come out there tomorrow to see if it would be best to dig out the two old ponds this week or wait until next summer. It is dry now, but the frost in the ground could complicate things. Digging out the two old silted in ponds and cleaning out old logging roads aren’t covered by the nrcs work, so I’m likely going ahead with that on my own. I want to have all this stuff done right, so hopefully if it is done right now I won’t have to mess around with it much in future years. Make sure you get approval from the soil and water office before any pond digging or cleaning. Unfortunately they can cause you all sorts of problems if those spots are deemed wetlands and home to a toad we never heard about.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 9, 2023 8:21:37 GMT -6
I have done several hundred thousand dollars' worth of projects through the NRCS. Some with cost shares as high as 85%. 4 things to remember. First is the money may run out before your project gets approved. So you may have to resubmit next year if you don't get approval this time. Provided money is available next year that is. If your project is approved, you have to do everything their way. May be ok, may not. Then once project is completed you may have a maintenance schedule to adhere to from NRCS. And if you sell the property you have to get the new owner to except the maintenance schedule. The 4th item is you will be tracked by EWG as to how much your subsidy is that year or all years from the Gov for said project. Not a big deal to me or most guys but some guys are not happy with the world seeing the so called free money you are getting. Other then that, good luck hope it goes well for you. What is EWG? Website that tracks every farmers total amount of subsidies they have collected over their lifetime. Whether they wanted the subsidies or not. A Lot of it is attached to government subsidized crop insurance. It’s the only way you can buy crop insurance. So if your banker requires crop insurance to secure a crop input loan, you are forced to buy subsidized crop insurance and take subsidies you may not want and now you are put on the list. And if you have a claim due to a crop loss and receive money from crop insurance, that goes on the list. All NRCS and SWCD cost share programs go on the list as well if you use them. Website is partially funded by the teachers unions across the country. And if you openly complain to much about the new tax payer funded school your district wants to ram down your throat, guess what gets circulated about joe blow subsidized farmer.
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