Minnesota’s farmers, producers, local community organizations, watershed staff and others working to improve water quality are encouraged to attend the fifth annual Ag-Urban partnership forum from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on April 15, 2025, at the Riverside Terrace in Sauk Rapids. Building upon success from previous events, this year’s forum will focus on ways to reduce nitrogen in Minnesota’s water, and ways that agricultural and urban partners are working together to improve water quality.
The event is hosted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Department of Agriculture (MDA), and the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). The event is free, but pre-registration is required.
2025 Ag-Urban Partnership Forum
Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Sauk Rapids: Riverside Terrace (195 River Ave S.)
Agenda highlights
- Keynote: “Understanding how nitrogen behaves in the environment.” Presented by Brad Carlson of the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
- The Minnesota Geological Survey, MPCA and MDH presentation on conditions of nitrogen across the state with a focus on groundwater, surface water, and drinking water.
- Agency approaches for future nitrogen reduction, funding opportunities, and examples of successful partnerships and overcoming challenges. Panel discussion about partnership and project work for nitrogen reduction. Includes speakers from Forever Green Initiative, a Dakota county farmer, Rock County SWCD and Rock County Rural Water.
Annual gathering
State agencies hosted the first-ever Ag-Urban Partnership Forum in 2019, which focused solely on the protection and improvement strategies for the Minnesota River. The event sparked new partnerships and demonstrated a strong desire for additional platforms to collaborate on water protection issues around the state. Subsequent events were held virtually and garnered statewide attendance.
This forum is organized through collaboration among the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, along with the cooperation of agriculture, community and water partners: AgCentric, Clean River Partners, Friends of the Mississippi River, Great River Greening, Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Rural Water, Red River Basin Commission, University of Minnesota Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.