The Mower County Farm Bureau is looking to help local farmers and residents learn more about Minnesota’s new statewide buffer plan, which will be the focus Tuesday as part of an informational, public event in Austin sponsored by Mower County Farm Bureau.

Members of the public are invited to attend the 9:30 a.m. free, hour-long event at the Austin VFW Club, 300 Fourth Ave. NE. Speakers will include Ron Frank, vice president of Mower County Farm Bureau; Warren Formo, executive director of the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center; and Justin Hanson and Aaron Gamm of the Mower Soil & Water Conservation District.

In 2015, state legislators passed a law seeking to establish riparian (the area between land and a river or stream) buffers and water-quality practices to protect water resources from erosion and runoff pollution; stabilize soils, shores and banks; and provide habitat and riparian corridors.

Statewide, the law seeks to establish 110,000 acres of vegetation buffers of up to 50 feet along lakes, rivers, streams and ditches to help filter out phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment. The buffer width will be an average of 50 feet on public waters and at least 16.5 feet on public ditches.

“We want to keep agricultural landowners and producers updated and hear from them as we all continue to work through the new state law,” Frank said in a press release, adding that Mower County Farm Bureau will offer a follow-up meeting after the 2016 legislative session.

Mower County Farm Bureau is part of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation, an organization that serves as an advocate for agriculture driven by the beliefs and policies of its members.

Hanson, the Mower SWCD manager, along with Gamm, a district technician who is Mower SWCD’s lead on the buffer plan, will give updates Tuesday on the buffer plan and what work has been happening since the law passed.

Mower SWCD has calculated that Mower County has 445 miles of public waters, including 21 miles of public ditches, which all have the 16.5-foot buffer. A majority of rivers and streams in Mower County also already have the 50-foot buffer. Overall, the new law would establish in Mower County about 5,139 acres along waters and 84 acres along ditches.

Mower SWCD and all other SWCDs in Minnesota will implement the state’s buffer requirement, including by planning; providing technical assistance to landowners; reviewing alternative practices for approval; and tracking and reporting progress.

By this July, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources expects to have buffer protection maps finalized. Buffers on public waters then will be in place by November 2017. Buffers on public drainage systems then will be in place by November 2018.