Dave Frederickson, Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture, said the planning for Minnesota's new voluntary conservation program for farmers will start next week. "So let the wild rumpus begin," he said Tuesday at a press conference to announce the federal program.

What he meant is that there would be plenty of competition for a seat at the table among farmers, commodity groups, environmentalists, conservationists and scientists. There was wide agreement from government officials, farm groups and environmentalists that the structure of that group will be critical to program's credibility.

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Governor Mark Dayton, federal Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson were also there to launch the program. Essentially, it would provide financial and technical support for farmers anywhere in Minnesota who adopt farming techniques designed to protect water quality. In exchange, they would be exempt from any environmental regulations for the life of their agreement, which could be as long as ten years. Eventually, they would also get what amounts to to a green seal of approval that ensures their crops were harvested in an environmentally sound way -- something that food companies and retailers like Walmart might be able to use in marketing to consumers.

At this point, though, there are few if any specifics. That's what makes some environmental groups leery.

It's also not clear yet how much money the USDA will provide to help farmers pay for conservation practices, though Frederickson said it would unlikely be more than $10 million.

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Paul Aasen, head of the state Pollution Control Agency, said the first order of business -- after a the technical advisory committee is formed -- will be to put together a laundry list of agricultural practices that have been proven to work. That could be anything from strips of grass planted along ditches and streams, to leaving crop residue on the behind after harvest to hold soil on the land.

Vilsack said that the USDA's research has found that most farmers to something to protect water quality. But the real impact would come from farmers' using multiple practices at once, he said.

If it all comes to pass, could it work?

Possibly. A paper published Tuesday by the Ecological Society of America on nitrogen pollution, which comes from manure and fertilizer, can be reduced by 30 to 50 percent by using existing techniques.

And if they really got serious they could reduce nitrogen runoff by 70 to 90 percent, the report said.