Conservation News

Read on for an update from the Michigan Conservation Stewardship for Farmers Project (MCSFP). This program supports farmers in Washtenaw, Wayne, Monroe, Lenawee, and Hillsdale counties were invited to apply to receive monetary awards to put towards on-farm conservation, farm management and marketing-related expenses. To date, the program has almost 60 applicants and has delegated over $600,000 in funds.

Your fields and compost piles are critical to turning organic resources back into healthy soil!

Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office Materials Management Division, in partnership with the Washtenaw County Conservation District, wants to learn more about composting on local farms. Whether you already manage a compost system or are just curious about how to do more, we want to hear from you!

The WCCD has a transplanter that can plant up to 300 seedlings / hour! Soil conditions in fall are often the best for tree survival. The transplanter is on a trailer with a license plate allows easier transport on roads.

Michigan has an estimated 1.3 million septic systems serving roughly half of its population, and over 20% of them may be failing. Michigan is the only state lacking a statewide code regulating septic systems.

SepticSmart Week aims to encourage homeowners to properly use and maintain their systems. WCCD staff are currently working on an education project aiming to educate residents of the Ottawa-Stony North Watershed on how to reduce pollution risks from their septic systems.

Want to give your input on the work we do at WCCD? Want to help shape the direction of our Farmer Programs and conservation within the county? Then volunteer and join WCCD’s Farmer Committee. For over 78 years WCCD has been working with county landowners and producers in conserving our natural resources and farmers have been as a part of our leadership every step of the way.

In August 2026, the Washtenaw County Conservation District hosted an expanded field day, focused on regenerative farming practices. The event focused on soil health, and encouraged networking, education, and peer to peer conversations.

Ten first-generation farmers (those who did not grow up on or inherit a family farm) will be matched with experienced mentors for one-on-one guidance tailored to their farming goals. Learn more and apply!

MDARD awarded a Regenerative Farmer Network Grant (RFNG) to the newly formed, farmer-led Washtenaw Agroecology Network. WCCD is serving as the collaborator of the new network, which consists of Michigan row crop farmers with between several hundred to over a thousand acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat, and is providing expanded soil testing.

The Michigan Conservation Stewardship for Farmers Project (MCSFP) is a USDA-funded initiative meant to put “Farmers First.” Through a producer incentive program, MCSFP will invest a total of $3 million in southeast Michigan farms by September 2028.
Application and Enrollment details can be found at macd.org/mcsfp