Farmers in parts of western Lancaster and southern Lebanon and Dauphin counties can get access funding, technical assistance and support for projects that improve water quality.
The Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center recently launched the Chiques-Conoy-Conewago Regional Partnership, or C3RP. The partnership, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, brings together agriculture and conservation partners to provide sampling and data collection, outreach, technical assistance, and funding assistance to interested farmers in the C3RP region.
Farmers interested in working with the partnership can take advantage of tools developed by Penn State researchers and Extension to improve soil health, water quality and farm productivity. The grant also supports technical assistance and funding administered by the Lancaster County Conservation District to implement priority conservation practices highlighted in Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 WIP, a roadmap of sorts for how the state will reach federally mandated goals to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Priority practices include riparian buffers, manure storage, cover crops, no-till transition, stream and wetland restoration, grazing management, barnyard improvements, and 4R nutrient management.
Funding for the first farm conservation project under the grant was awarded in December and the partnership is looking for other farms to work with.
For more information, contact Lauren Shaffer, AEC agricultural outreach specialist, at las6435@psu.edu or click here.