owners. Below are highlights on several such programs.
• Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost- Share (MACS) - Te MACS Program pro- vides farmers with grants to cover up to 87.5% of the cost of installing conservation measures known as best management practices on their farms to prevent soil erosion, manage nutrients and safeguard water quality in streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Grassed waterways planted to prevent gully erosion in farm fields, streamside buffers of grasses and trees planted to filter sediment and farm runoff, and animal waste management systems constructed to help farmers safely handle and store manure resourc- es are among more than 30 best management practices currently eligible for cost-share grants.
• Te Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Animal Waste Technology Fund provides in- centives to companies that demonstrate new technologies on farms and provide alternative strategies for managing animal manure. Tese technologies generate energy from animal manure, reduce on-farm waste streams, and repurpose manure by creating marketable fer- tilizer and other products and by-products. Te Animal Waste Technology Fund helps
farmers address challenges in managing ma- nure under Maryland’s nutrient management law and regulations. Alternative strategies for complying with these requirements may in-
clude altering the nutrient content of organic nutrient sources, using manure for energy gen- eration, or developing new products that add value to improve farm viability.
• Maryland Conservation Reserve Enhance- ment Program - Te Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) grew out of increasing recognition that wetlands and lands adjacent to streams (riparian areas) and other water bodies have a tremendous impact on water quality and provide critical wildlife habi- tat. Tese important conservation areas can be protected and restored in many ways. CREP provides attractive annual cash rental payments to farm landowners willing to voluntarily take sensitive land out of agricultural production and restore and protect these buffer areas. Under CREP, landowners contract with
USDA through their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) to receive annual rental pay- ments, plus bonuses, for taking land out of production and installing conservation prac- tices adjacent to waterways. With the addi- tional support of MDA, landowners can also receive up to 87.5% reimbursement for the cost of installation of conservation practices, such as riparian forest or vegetative buffer plant- ing, or retirement of highly erodible lands, and 50% reimbursement for wetlands. Te contract agreement lasts for 10 to 15 years. In addition, landowners can sign a conservation easement
and receive an additional bonus payment in exchange for an agreement to retain the con- servation practices in perpetuity. To read more about these programs, see:
https://equiery.com/farm-fix-up-tips/
• Manure Transport Program - Tere are also cost-share grants through MDA for Spring Manure Transport and Injection available to horse farm owners. Tis program is funded through MDA’s Conservation Grants Pro- gram. Te Manure Transport Program helps cover the costs (up to $28 per ton) to transport manure to farms with low phosphorus fields or to alternative use facilities. In addition, MDA now has a simplified
application process for dairy and other “non- poultry”
livestock, which includes horses.
Cost-share grants pay up to 87.5% of all eli- gible costs with rates based on the transport distance and type of manure (liquid or solid). Manure must be transported more than one mile from the sending farm. Te farms receiv- ing the manure must be the ones applying for the transportation grant. For more information, contact program manag- er Jason Keppler at
jason.keppler@
maryland.gov.
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www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | APRIL 2024 | 15
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