Five Conservation Incentive Grants were awarded to groups in the Pennsylvania portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed totaling over $872,000 by the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The program is designed to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in conjunction with agricultural production.

The Pennsylvania grants went to—

Pennsylvania State University - $196,291 research using new and conventional manure injection technologies on no-till and sod soils to control odor and nutrient losses to surface water runoff;

Brian Brake - $9,265 to determine the impact of planting alternative dairy forages;

Chesapeake Bay Foundation - $440,616 using precision dairy feeding to reduce nutrient pollution;

Chester County Conservation District - $10,700 using a horse drawn no-till planter for plain-sect farmers;

Mifflin County Conservation District - $215,433 using environmental sensitive maintenance on farm access roads to eliminate nutrient and sediment pollution in the Kishacoquillas Valley Watershed.

For more information visit the Conservation Innovation Grants webpage.

8/26/2005