{"id":24905,"date":"2020-12-09T14:26:27","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T19:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=24905"},"modified":"2021-03-29T16:47:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T20:47:13","slug":"new-conservation-buffer-initiative-helps-maryland-farmers-meet-chesapeake-bay-cleanup-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2020\/12\/09\/new-conservation-buffer-initiative-helps-maryland-farmers-meet-chesapeake-bay-cleanup-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"New Conservation Buffer Initiative Helps Maryland Farmers Meet Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"24909\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2020\/12\/09\/new-conservation-buffer-initiative-helps-maryland-farmers-meet-chesapeake-bay-cleanup-goals\/attachment\/conservation-buffer-initiative\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png?fit=1024%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,512\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Conservation Buffer Initiative\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png?fit=760%2C380&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24909\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png?resize=760%2C380\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/Conservation-Buffer-Initiative.png?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><strong><i>Enrollment period Jan. 11-Feb. 5, 2021<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><b>ANNAPOLIS, MD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced a new Conservation Buffer Initiative for farmers interested in planting streamside buffers on their farms to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">new pilot program aims to increase the amount of forest and grass buffers planted next to waterways and field ditches to filter nutrients and sediment runoff from fields.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cMaryland farmers are seen around the nation as leaders in conservation practices,\u201d said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. \u201cThe new Conservation Buffer Initiative is another tool in the tool box for Maryland farmers who are working in the field to help protect the Chesapeake Bay and improve water quality. The department is excited to launch this new initiative that was designed based on farmer feedback to be more flexible with shorter contract terms, easier site management, and protection for streams and field ditches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland\u2019s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan includes a goal to plant 63,980 acres of buffers by 2025. To help meet this goal, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">farmers can sign up for grants through the department\u2019s Conservation Buffer Initiative during the four-week enrollment period from <\/span><b>Jan. 11<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to<\/span><b> Feb. 5, 2021<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The following three types of buffers will be eligible for funding and <\/span><b>free <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">technical assistance under this pilot program:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Grass Buffers on Watercourses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 Establish a new buffer or improve an existing buffer between cropland and either an adjacent watercourse or field ditch.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Forest Buffers on Watercourses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 Establish a new buffer or improve an existing buffer between cropland and an adjacent watercourse.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><b style=\"font-size: inherit\">Watercourse Access Control Area<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 Establish a new access control area or improve an existing access control area between an adjacent watercourse and an active livestock pasture. Additional funding is available to establish livestock exclusion fencing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Participating farmers receive a one-time payment to help offset costs to establish a buffer on their farms with 75% paid when the contract is executed and the remaining 25% when the project is completed. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Payment rates range from $500 per acre for an existing grass buffer to a maximum of $3,500 per acre to install a riparian buffer with fencing. Contracts are for 5 or 10 years. Site installations will be verified through the Soil Conservation Districts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mowing and hay harvesting will still be allowed, but nutrient applications will not. All buffer projects must be completed by June 30, 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Farmers who want to install new buffers on land adjacent to waterways or improve existing buffers are encouraged to sign up. The program offers no-contact enrollment on the department\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/conservation-buffer-initiative.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For help with applications or questions, please contact your local <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/technical_assistance.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">soil conservation district<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Funding for Maryland\u2019s Conservation Buffer Initiative is provided by the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/mdagdept\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@MdAgDept<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enrollment period Jan. 11-Feb. 5, 2021 ANNAPOLIS, MD \u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced a new Conservation Buffer Initiative for farmers interested in planting streamside buffers on their farms to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The new pilot program aims to increase the amount of forest and grass<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2020\/12\/09\/new-conservation-buffer-initiative-helps-maryland-farmers-meet-chesapeake-bay-cleanup-goals\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24905"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25280,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24905\/revisions\/25280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}