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MDA Raises Cost-Share Caps for Dairy Manure Transport; Local Soil Conservation Districts Now Accepting Grant Applications

MDA LogoANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) today announced that it has raised its cost-share funding caps for qualifying dairy and other non-poultry producers who transport manure within their own operations or to other farms where the manure can be used safely and in compliance with a current nutrient management plan. Effective immediately, qualifying farmers may receive up to $15,000 per season or $30,000 per year in cost-share assistance to transport manure. The current limit for individual farms is $7,500 per year.

“The increased cost-share rates for dairy farmers complement a menu of additional resources developed over the last year to help farmers comply with Maryland’s revised nutrient management regulations,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. “This program helps dairy farmers with too little land to spread their manure due to high soil phosphorus levels.”

Established in 1998, Maryland’s Manure Transport Program helps poultry, dairy, beef and other livestock producers cover the costs of transporting excess manure off their farms. Animal producers with high soil phosphorus levels or inadequate land to properly utilize their manure can receive cost-share assistance of up to $18 per ton to transport excess manure to other farms in accordance with an approved nutrient management plan, or alternative use facilities that can use the product safely. Non-poultry farmers received 87.5 percent of eligible costs, up to $18 per ton.

In FY 2013, Maryland farmers transported 48,451 tons of manure to approved farms and businesses using $339,252 in state grants. More than 90 percent of this tonnage was shipped to alternative use facilities and not land applied in the watershed. Delmarva poultry companies provided matching funds to transport poultry litter, bringing the total amount of financial support provided to farmers through the Manure Transport Program to $678,504.

Farmers interested in applying for grants through the Manure Transport Program should contact their local soil conservation district or call the Maryland Department of Agriculture at 410-841-5864.

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Contact Information

If you have any questions, need additional information or would like to arrange an interview, please contact:
Jessica Hackett
Director of Communications
Telephone: 410-841-5888

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