{"id":28531,"date":"2024-10-01T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T14:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=28531"},"modified":"2024-09-27T14:19:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T18:19:30","slug":"small-equine-and-livestock-operations-now-eligible-for-conservation-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2024\/10\/01\/small-equine-and-livestock-operations-now-eligible-for-conservation-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Equine and Livestock Operations Now Eligible for Conservation Funding\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"28533\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2024\/10\/01\/small-equine-and-livestock-operations-now-eligible-for-conservation-funding\/attachment\/agency\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png?fit=940%2C788&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"940,788\" 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=\"Agency\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png?fit=760%2C637&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-28533\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png?resize=300%2C251\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png?resize=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png?resize=768%2C644&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/10\/Agency.png?w=940&amp;ssl=1 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\"><strong>ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 1, 2024)<\/strong> \u2013 The <strong>Maryland Department of Agriculture<\/strong> has announced that cost-share funding to install a range of popular best management practices is now available for small-scale equine and livestock operations with at least 1,000 pounds of live animal weight. This expansion of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/macs.aspx\">Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program<\/a> <\/strong>extends the popular conservation assistance program to these smaller farms. Previously, participation in MACS was limited to operations with 8,000 or more pounds of live animal weight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">\u201cWe are actively seeking out and working with small farms to get them the financial assistance they need to improve the natural resources that support their operations,\u201d said <strong>Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks<\/strong>. \u201cErosion and runoff are issues that all equine and livestock operations\u2014large and small\u2014face. We are excited to expand our conservation programs to help everyone do their part to protect the natural resources we all depend on.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">MACS currently funds 40 conservation practices that help farmers and landowners reduce soil erosion, manage animal manure, and control nutrient runoff to protect the health of local streams and the Chesapeake Bay, as well as mitigate impacts associated with climate change. The program provides up to 100% cost-share for high-priority practices such as forest buffers and stream exclusion fencing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Examples of qualifying conservation practices that benefit equine and livestock operations include:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Watering Facilities \u2013 Up to 87.5% cost-share\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Pasture Management \u2013 Up to 87.5% cost-share<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Animal Waste Storage Structures \u2013 Up to 87.5% cost-share<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Heavy Use Area Protection \u2013 Up to 87.5% cost-share<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Roof Runoff Structures \u2013 Up to 87.5% cost-share<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Stream Exclusion Fencing \u2013 Up to 100% cost-share<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Interior Pasture Fencing \u2013 Up to 50% cost-share<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Since 1984, MACS has helped thousands of farmers protect natural resources on their farms, safeguard local water quality, and enhance the health of their livestock. Please contact your <a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/technical_assistance.aspx\">local soil conservation district<\/a> to learn more about our conservation grants for small equine and livestock operations. Additional information for equine operations can be found on <a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/horse_pasture_manure_info.aspx\">MDA\u2019s Horse Outreach Workgroup website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on <strong>Facebook<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MdAgDept\">@MdAgDept<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 1, 2024) \u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced that cost-share funding to install a range of popular best management practices is now available for small-scale equine and livestock operations with at least 1,000 pounds of live animal weight. This expansion of the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program extends<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2024\/10\/01\/small-equine-and-livestock-operations-now-eligible-for-conservation-funding\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"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-28531","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\/28531","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\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28531"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28534,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28531\/revisions\/28534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}