Mid-Shore Soil Conservation Districts Accepting Applications for Soil Health Practices and Projects

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

ANNAPOLIS, MD —  Soil conservation districts in Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties are now accepting applications from farmers seeking funding and technical assistance to implement conservation practices on their farms that enhance soil health, improve air quality, and safeguard water quality. Farmers have until February 15 to apply for funding and technical assistance to establish healthy soil practices.

This funding opportunity is made possible by a federal grant secured earlier this year 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.

These practices increase organic matter in 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 department will use the grant to fund a series of farmer-to-farmer education workshops, on-farm field trials, and demonstrations. The first soil health workshop is currently being planned for this winter. The Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology is partnering on the project and will support these goals.

Farmers in participating counties should contact their soil conservation districts before the February 15 deadline. 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.

###

Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter @MdAgDept