Water Quality Project Reaching Out to More Farmers
Posted by Susan Ponsolle on 03-16-07
Dave and Matt Young of Red Knob
Farm in Pennsylvania and Matt's son Andy have practiced no-till farming
for more than six years and were among the first to join Lancaster Farms
project, a Center for Conservation Incentives project. Since 2004,
Lancaster Farms has worked with a growing number of farmers each year
in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to improve water quality in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed. The project hit the ground with 27 farmers in
2004 and in 2006 grew to include 55 farmers. Now this voluntary,
incentives-based effort to help agricultural landowners improve
nutrient-use efficiency is expanding to more farmers over a wider
geographic range. The new goal is to enroll at least 300 Pennsylvania
and Maryland farmers over the next three years.
Increased funding will help more farmers use precision tests to determine how much nitrogen-based fertilizer or manure their land needs and thus avoid overuse that contributes to polluting runoff. The project will also reduce nutrient runoff by helping expand a regional composting facility that can create a value-added product from excess manure and litter. New funding includes non-federal monies for Plain Sect (Amish and Mennonite) farmers who do not accept federal dollars. USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which has created a special project to to help fund Lancaster Farms, will expand and improve that effort. The Center for Conservation Incentives will continue to provide additional funding and overall project coordination and direction.
For more on Lancaster Farms, see November 2004 Conservation Incentives article.
Read the full story on the Environmental Defense website.
Write a comment