The State Conservation Commission announced it has expanded the Conservation Excellence Grant Program to seven counties and awarded over $5 million for the installation of farm best management practices.

The counties include Bedford, Centre, Cumberland, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York.

Participating conservation districts have committed over $5.108 million in CEG program funds to eligible projects that include barnyard runoff and manure storage and manure stacking areas; roofed heavy use area protection (HUAP); grassed waterways and diversions; and cover crops. 

Conservation districts have processed $1.171 million in payments to farmers for completion of BMPs that are part of an agricultural erosion and sedimentation plan, conservation plan, nutrient or manure management plan.

A special project between the State Conservation Commission and Lancaster Farmland Trust, funded under DEP’s federal Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant program, has created a public-private partnership model that is utilizing the CEG program’s financial bundling (grants, tax credits and loans) concept for the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) on several farms in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County.

LFT is currently working with four project sites to complete design or construction activities of BMPs. LFT anticipates expanding its funding support to four more project sites with match from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation before completion of the grant.

For more information on this program, visit the Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Excellence Grant Program webpage.

Visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed webpage to learn more about cleaning up rivers and streams in Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

Check DEP’s 2022 Water Quality Report to find out how cleans streams are near you.

Related Articles - DEP Healthy Waters Newsletter:

-- Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance Invites Farmers To Participate In Cover Crop Research; Upcoming Field Days In July; Farm Planting Guides

-- NFWF Chesapeake Bay Program Offers Cost Share For Farms To Implement Split Applications Of Nitrogen

-- Penn State Farm Conservation Practices Survey Responses Due April 1

-- USDA Grassland Conservation Reserve Program Open

-- REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credit Requests Exceed $14 Million

-- Federal Chesapeake Bay Watershed Currents Newsletter Resource For Local Governments

(Reprinted from the DEP Chesapeake Bay Office March Healthy Waters newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

[Posted: March 21, 2022]

3/28/2022