Location: Statewide Minnesota
Client: Minnesota Soybean Growers Association
Background
In Minnesota, soybean farmers are under pressure to ramp up their conservation stewardship efforts, with some political pressures rising to compel these actions. Minnesota, like other states, has many programs and policies to implement clean water projects. However, the broader agricultural community can struggle, at times, to engage in these processes. Participation is particularly difficult at the individual farmer level. These ongoing struggles highlighted the need for a more systematic approach to guide soybean farmers to more constructively engage in projects. Part of this process involves identifying barriers to participation, identifying what aspects of current programs work well, and finding new ways to grow participation levels.
The Project
As part of a research project funded by the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, HEI is actively studying these questions and looking for constructive answers.
To help define the programs, policies, and regulations that affect Minnesota clean water projects and the organizations leading the work, HEI developed a web-based survey to gain key information and opinions. By obtaining these conservation delivery stories, HEI hopes to evaluate the current roadmap for conservation delivery to identify what is working well and where there are barriers. The overall goal of this work is to engage soybean farmers in clean water projects and create a clear roadmap for water quality improvements in Minnesota.
