The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday set crop damage rates for the year to compensate farmers for damage that may occur due to county ditch repairs or construction projects.

For standing crops that had already been planted when work occurs, the rate will be $698 per acre for corn and $494 per acre for beans.

For ground that had not been planted, the county will compensate for instances a farmer is not able to put a crop in due to county work. For ground not planted, the county will compensate $400 per acre, based off an annual rental rate of approximately $225.

Freeborn County Auditor-Treasurer Pat Martinson said the rates for standing crops look at yield and sale price. The yield is determined by using the three-year average yield for the county from data received from the United States Department of Agriculture. The sale price is determined by using an average sale price for corn and soybeans from four local elevators on Dec. 30.

In other action, the board:

• Authorized loans from the general fund to cover cash shortages for ditch repairs in the amount of $731,300 in 2019.

Martinson said this action is common at this time of year and will be paid back at a 3% interest rate through 2020 assessments.

• Discharged engineer John Nieber, who had been previously approved as design engineer for the repair of county ditch J9, and appointed Steve Penkava of Jones, Haugh and Smith to the same position.

The portion of J9 being repaired is in sections 25 and 36 of Pickerel Lake Township and in section 31 of Albert Lea Township.

The project is in collaboration with the Shell Rock River Watershed District, and Martinson said she hoped the change would expedite the process.

• Renewed an interagency cooperative agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Services for reimbursement of child support services, including work to establish paternity, collect child support money, protect data and tax information, and conduct audits.

The agreement outlines the federal, state and county responsibilities and reimburses the Sheriff’s Office and county attorney by the Human Services Department for their work for child support services.

• Approved filling a Department of Human Services account clerk position after former account clerk Jamie Bachtle accepted a position as a Human Resources executive assistant in administration.

• Approved various repairs to the drainage system.

• Watched a short video about the 2019 accomplishments of the National Association of Counties.