Pennsylvania farmers and Technical Service Providers will now have an opportunity to work together to develop Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans under a new USDA initiative.

CNMPs have been developed through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program contracts for many years. What differs is the incentive for farmers to receive EQIP dollars through a contract that will then be used by the farmer to hire a private industry person to complete the plan rather than a USDA employee.

An information meeting for TSPs will be held in Harrisburg on July 13 to discuss this new program. For information about the meeting, please call Gary Smith at 717-237-2204.

This initiative is for the planning stages of a CNMP. Farmers will not only benefit from the value of the content in the CNMP, but it will also put farmers in a better position to apply for an additional EQIP contract that will go towards incentive payments to apply the practices shown in the CNMP. Funding for EQIP is limited, so farmers can take this step to make their EQIP applications more competitive in the ranking process.

According to USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Craig Derickson, “TSPs stand to benefit from this program because it will put more dollars in the hands of the private sector that will do the planning work. It will help to build the capacity and expertise for doing conservation work for non-USDA employees. The more people we have involved in doing quality conservation work, the better it is for the farming community and the environment. NRCS welcomes TSPs to assist us in getting conservation work accomplished.”

Four issues are addressed in a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan: 1) Manure and Wastewater Storage and Handling Plan, 2) Nutrient Management Planning, 3) Land Treatment Conservation Planning, and 4) Record Keeping. Nutrient Management Planning and some of the Manure Handling and Waste Water Storage can be accomplished through the State Conservation Commission’s Act 38 Nutrient Management Planning process.

There should be no duplication of services or confusion between the state and federal programs since the two agencies have worked together to make the programs compatible.

EQIP is a continuous sign up program so farmers who wish to participate can sign up now at their USDA Service Center for funding in 2008. Since TSPs need to be certified by NRCS to do the work, starting the process early will better ensure certification by the time farmers begin to receive contracts and are seeking qualified TSPs to do their CNMP plan.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

Additional information about USDA NRCS programs can be obtained through the Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans Fact Sheet or by contacting the local USDA Service Center. The Spanish/English toll free number is 1-866-232-0690.

6/15/2007