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Jan
MDA January 2021 Highlights
JANUARY 2021
#1 Signup for New Conservation Buffer Initiative Opens January 11 #2 Fertilizer Application Reports due March 1 for Licensed Professional Fertilizer Applicators #3 Online Recertification Seminar Offered January 12, 2021 for Lawn Care Professionals #4 State Agriculture Department Reminds Citizens Not to Use Fertilizer to Melt Ice #5 Nutrient Management Training Set for March 8 – 12, 2021 #6 2020 Conservation Grants Annual Report Published
#1. Need Buffers?
Signup opens January 11 for the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s new Conservation Buffer Initiative. The program offers attractive incentive payments, easy signup and more management options for farmers who want to plant streamside buffers on their farms to improve water quality. Interested? Check out the website for full details and application forms—but don’t wait too long—signup ends February 5, 2021.
To Learn More About the Buffer Initiative Go To: https://mda.maryland.gov/resource_conservation/Pages/conservation-buffer-initiative.aspx
Continue reading “MDA January 2021 Highlights” »17
Dec
Countywide Biological Monitoring Program
Every year, Anne Arundel County’s Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration (BWPR) samples the fish and aquatic insects in County streams and rivers as a part of their Countywide Biological Monitoring Program. Biological monitoring of streams and rivers is an assessment technique employed nationwide by local, state, and federal agencies and is rooted in over 40 years of sound, scientific research supporting it as a great, cost-effective way to understand the overall health of the waterways in our County! The Program selects the streams it samples at random using digital maps and selected reaches are sampled for aquatic insects in the spring and fish in the summer. BWPR staff and their consultants are gearing up for their 2021 sampling year, so if you get a letter in the mail this winter requesting access to sample the stream on your property, please be sure to respond to this wonderful project in order to help get an overview of the water quality and stream health throughout our County! For more information on sampling details, important dates, and any questions about the Program, please visit https://www.aacounty.org/departments/public-works/wprp/ecological-assessment-and-evaluation/biological-monitoring/ or contact Chris Victoria with BWPR (410-222-0545) or the AASCD office (410-571-6757).11
Dec
Maryland’s Conservation Buffer Intiative
Maryland’s Conservation Buffer Initiative
Introducing Maryland's new Conservation Buffer Initiative. This pilot program provides a new funding option for farmers who want to plant streamside buffers on their farms to improve the health of local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. Sign-up begins on January 11 and ends February 5 There are 3 types of buffers eligible for funding. They are forest, grass, and watercourse access control areas adjacent to pastures.- Farmers receive a one-time payment for enrolled land with 75% paid when the contract is executed and 25% paid when the project is completed.
- Payment rates range from $500/acre for an existing grass buffer to a maximum of $3,500/acre to install a riparian forest buffer with fencing.
- Mowing and hay harvesting are allowed; nutrient applications are not.
- Contracts are for 5 or 10 years.
- Soil conservation districts provide free technical assistance to get your buffer installed.
- All work must be completed by June 30, 2022