Permanent Easements for Cover Crops

The Dane County Continuous Cover Program (CCP), created in 2019, supports landowners in converting row-cropped fields into continuous vegetative cover to improve water quality, reduce erosion, build soil health, increase wildlife habitat, sequester carbon, and diversify farming practices.

Beginning in 2024, landowners may choose between a 15-year CCP cost-share agreement or a permanent conservation easement, which ensures continuous cover in perpetuity.

Having these practices in perpetuity will help protect our land, reduce phosphorous and provide an immediate financial benefit to the producer.

In our last EANR meeting, we approved two permanent easements and they will go to the full board for a vote at our next meeting.