Planting is running behind normal due to the recent cold, wet weather and there are some fields that are inundated with water. When that happens, the Natural Resources Conservation Service gets an increase in wetland drainage questions from farmers. South Dakota State Conservationist Jeff Zimprich says there are several criteria used for determining if an area is a wetland and can be approved for drainage or tiling.
Zimprich reminds farmers they just can’t drain wet spots in their fields without approval from NRCS and the agency has cleared up the thousands of wetland determinations that were backed up in the state.
He says they’ve responded to producer complaints and NRCS can now turn around wetland delineation determinations in a reasonable timeframe.
He says even when cleaning out drainage ditches or replacing tiling line farmers should contact the agency, so they don’t jeopardize their eligibility for farm programs.
