USDA funds seven wetland banks to ease farm compliance rules

The USDA is investing $4.4 million in seven projects across the Midwest and Great Plains to develop or expand wetland mitigation banks for agricultural producers. These banks restore, create or enhance wetlands and generate credits producers can buy to offset unavoidable wetland impacts and maintain eligibility for many USDA programs. Projects include four new banks in southern and mid-Michigan expected to provide about 107 acres of forested wetlands, and four additional sites in eastern South Dakota expected to generate about 120 credits. Funding will also support mitigation banking programs in Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota and Illinois; Indiana’s existing agricultural bank is expected to exhaust its remaining credits by the end of 2027. The USDA says it prioritized areas with substantial wetland acreage and conservation-compliance demand, while the South Dakota Farm Bureau says its program helps producers address wetland-related constraints on working fields.