Deadline Extended to March 15 for Farmers Applying for Grants to Establish Healthy Soil Practices

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Funding Available for Projects in Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Farmers in Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties who are interested in obtaining financial and technical support to establish healthy soil practices on their farms now have until March 15 to apply for assistance through their local soil conservation district offices. The original deadline was extended to allow more farmers to take advantage of this unique opportunity to test the latest practices and technologies for building healthy soils on their farms.

This funding opportunity is made possible by a federal grant secured by the Maryland Department of Agriculture to support the installation of healthy soil practices that allow farmers to gain experience using the latest technological advances. The department was awarded a five year, $1 million Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Conservation practices eligible for funding and technical assistance include the following:

• Adaptive nutrient management (a process used to evaluate and adjust nutrient application and utilization strategies over multiple seasons);
• Multi-species cover crops;
• Conservation crop rotations;
• Variable rate technology for applying nutrients;
• Residual and tillage management;
• Precision farming;
• Edge-of-field tools to identify and reduce agricultural sources of excess nutrients;
• Composting;
• Forage and biomass plantings;
• And other practices that support and enhance soil health.

Farmers in participating counties should contact their soil conservation district by March 15 to apply for this program. For more information about Maryland’s healthy soils initiatives, please contact the department’s Office of Resource Conservation at 410-841-5865 or visit their website.

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