USDA Awards Conservation Grant to Maryland

Funds Will Support Installation of Conservation Practices on Eastern Shore

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Maryland Department of Agriculture has been awarded a $1 million Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The grant will be used to support the installation of conservation practices on Maryland farms that enhance soil health, improve air quality, and safeguard water quality. The duration of the grant is five years.

The Maryland grant proposal, titled “Taking Soil Health to the Next Level,” seeks to move the state beyond its robust Cover Crop Program to promote a variety of healthy soil practices that allow farmers to gain experience using the latest technological advances.

“We are excited by this opportunity to utilize and demonstrate a suite of soil health practices on Maryland farm fields,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “The project will go a long way towards fulfilling the state’s Healthy Soils initiative and improving natural resource management.”

Conservation practices funded by the grant include adaptive nutrient management, cover crops, crop rotations, variable rate technology for applying nutrients, residual and tillage management crop rotations, precision farming, edge-of-field tools to identify and reduce agricultural sources of excess nutrients, composting, forest and biomass plantings, and other practices that support and enhance soil health. The practices approved by this grant have been shown to increase organic matter in the soil, reduce soil erosion, promote nutrient cycling, improve water retention, and reduce competition from weeds and pests.

In addition to supporting the installation of selected conservation practices, the grant will fund a series of farmer-to-farmer education workshops, three demonstration projects at participating farms, and technical assistance to employ adaptive nutrient management strategies. The grant funds will be targeted to farmers in Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties. Soil conservation districts from each of these counties will promote and provide technical assistance for this project. In addition, the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology is partnering on the project and will assist with adaptive nutrient management and soil health measurement protocols and tools.

Visit the department’s website for more information on Maryland’s resource conservation programs.

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