Principal Investigator: Chris Lenhart
Organization: University of Minnesota, Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Award Amount: $65,600
Start Date: 5/1/2015 | End Date: 11/15/2017
Project Manager: Margaret Wagner (Margaret.Wagner@state.mn.us)
View the Ag BMP Handbook- 2nd Edition in the Minnesota Water Research Digital Library (MNWRL)
Project Summary
The overall goal of the project was to update the 2012 Minnesota Agricultural BMP Handbook to incorporate new data and expand the list of conservation practices. This is critical for establishing realistic estimates of the benefits of best management practice (BMP) implementation. The updated handbook includes a definition for each BMP; estimates of the effectiveness of each practice based on existing literature; costs and other economic considerations for each BMP; and potential barriers to BMP adoption.
In addition to reviewing definitions, the updated handbook establishes a range of estimates that better define the variability of BMP effectiveness by season, geologic setting, soil characteristic, and rainfall regime. Additionally, it incorporates a discussion on the management and maintenance requirements and the resulting influence on effectiveness. Costs and economic considerations are assessed in more detail through the use of state databases, such as eLINK, and research publications that document construction cost, as well as consultant implementation records. Potential barriers to adoption were assessed through literature review, agency interviews and landowner workshops.
The deliverables include an interactive pdf, project webpage and multiple PowerPoint presentations.
