CONSERVATION ON THE FARM

Agriculture is essential to all people: farms provide us with food and fiber. But agriculture is also a large source of nutrient and sediment pollution. While conventional tillage, fertilizers and pesticides can be beneficial to crops, their excessive use can pollute rivers and streams, pushing nutrients and sediment into waterways.

The Conservation District is committed to assisting farmers implement best management practices (BMP’s) on their farms that are both economically and environmentally beneficial.  For example, prudent conservation practices that keep soil and nutrients on the farm not only maintain the productivity of the farm but also protect drinking water and recreational activities such as fishing by keeping these pollutants out of our streams.  Some typical BMP’s include: cover crops, streambank buffers, crop rotation, rotational grazing systems, no-till planting to improve soil health, treating barnyard runoff water and installing fencing to keep livestock out of streams.

The Conservation District provides both technical and financial assistance for farmers developing erosion and sedimentation and manure management plans as well as for farmers implementing BMPs.  Funding for agricultural BMP projects has come from the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Program, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and from our various partners such as the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to name a few.

A description of common best management practices implemented on farms can be found in the Conservation Catalog.

Programs

• Agricultural Erosion & Sediment Control Planning
• Chesapeake Bay
• Financial Assistance
• Manure and Nutrient Management
• No-Till Farming
• Farm Inspection Program
• Soil Health
• Agricultural Best Management Practices

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