Loan Fund
The Agricultural Best Management Practices Loan Fund (Ag.BMP) Program
provides low interest financing for individuals to install conservation
practices or purchase conservation equipment. An annual allocation from
the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is available to farm operators and
agricultural land owners for implementing water quality improvement projects.
The Ag.BMP Loan Program is a 3% low interest loan option to rural landowners
within Dakota County for conservation practices. Ag.BMP funds can be allocated
for installing feedlot and manure storage systems, replacing or upgrading
individual sewage treatment systems (ISTS), sealing abandoned wells, purchasing
conservation tillage equipment designed to allow for higher levels of crop
residue, or installing terraces, diversions, sediment and water control
basins.
To be eligible for the program, applicants must:
- Have a water quality improvement project
- Receive financial approval from Farm Credit Services
- Agricultural waste storage and handling equipment projects must operate
within the guidelines of a Animal Confinement and/or Manure Storage Facility
(Feedlot) Permit
- Conservation tillage equipment projects must develop and implement
a conservation management plan with the Natural Resources Conservation
Service
- Individual sewage treatment system are required to be constructed as
per MN Statute 7080
Ag.BMP low interest loans may also be used in conjunction with State
Cost Share or Federal Environment Quality Incentives Program dollars.
Primary Contact for AG. BMP Loan Fund
Todd Matzke, Resource Conservationist
Phone: (651) 480-7780 Fax: (651) 480-7775
todd.matzke@co.dakota.mn.us
