Mercer:

Mercer County Hosts Farm Day

Wayne: 

Cover Crop Program Slated

Planning for the 2014 Pennsylvania Farm Show has begun. The PACD booth will again appear in the main exhibition hall from Jan. 4-11, 2014.

If you are interested in volunteering for booth set up/tear down, staffing a shift and/or in assisting with exhibit planning efforts, contact Brandi at brandi-davenport@pacd.org or 717-238-7223 x. 17. Parking passes will be provided to booth volunteers.

Additional details regarding Farm Show will be provided as they are available. 

Pike County Conservation District Watershed Specialist Lori Colgan (right) demonstrates a groundwater model on September 13 at Wallenpaupack High School for their Environmental Week.

The Pocono Source Water Protection Collaborative has been formed to maintain the excellent drinking water quality of Northeast Pennsylvania. The Pike County Conservation District (PCCD) is working with the Collaborative, a conglomerate of private and community associations, on plans to help keep our drinking water free from pollutants and assure a healthy water source for our entire region. The initial focus will be supporting community water systems in their drinking water protection efforts, such as developing a source water protection plan.   

The Conservation District's Watershed Specialist Lori Colgan is a member of the Collaborative's Source Water Environmental Education Team, and will be providing instruction to local schools and organizations on the importance of protecting the quality of the area's water. The Collaborative will also be providing educational workshops and sharing information throughout the year with local water companies, municipalities, and the Pike County Emergency Management agency personnel.

PCCD will help develop a Source Water Protection brochure and a GIS map that will help emergency response crews when called to a spill that threatens Pike County's source water.

This project is being funded by a $5,000 grant from the Water Resources Education Network, a project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for Drinking Water Source Water Protection administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The Wayne Conservation District has a self-funded program they would like to share with other districts. Here is their announcement to local producers.

Cover crops on a Pennsylvania farm. Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS.

The Wayne Conservation District has approved an incentive program to promote the planting of annual cover crops on fields that would normally be bare after harvesting a crop. Cover crops are excellent soil protectors and nutrient scavengers.

Fields producing an annual crop (one that leaves the soil open) would qualify for cover crop seed, i.e. corn for silage or a commercial vegetable garden.  The funding is available to active farmers only.

Producers will be reimbursed for up to five acres, a maximum of 10 bushels at a maximum of $20 per bushel. There are no restrictions for the use of the crop the following year. The seed must be planted with a no-till seeder. The farmer may use their no-till seeder or the District has a seeder to rent. The total allocation approved is $3,000 to promote the Best Management Practice of Cover Crops. The deadline for planting the cover crop is Oct. 15, 2013 and is first  come first served. Seed purchased before Sept. 5, 2013 will not be reimbursed.

• Capital RC&D Council - To demonstrate the implementation of grazing management strategies that will promote soil health and resilience of grazing plants to extreme weather conditions. Grant amount = $42,847 -Pennsylvania State University http://www.psu.edu/ - To explore a manure additive that reduces bursts of hydrogen sulfide during manure agitation on farms using gypsum bedding; to demonstrate air quality safety instruments to measure hydrogen sulfide levels; and disseminate findings. Grant amount = $70,000  
• Rodale Institute - To demonstrate the use of native plants as permanent cover crops to eliminate the need for annual applications of synthetic burn-down herbicides, control erosion, and improve soil health. Grant amount = $74,268  
• PennAg Industries Association - To increase the adoption of the 4R nutrient stewardship approach to achieve water and air resource conservation. Grant amount = $75,000  
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation - To build on efforts to advance the deployment of both liquid and solid manure injection technologies in high-density animal production regions of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. (This is a nationally-funded project across the Chesapeake Bay Basin in MD, PA, NY, DE, and VA). Grant amount = $821,384. 

The Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) program is providing two grant opportunities, which help to protect and conserve the health of Pennsylvania's coldwater ecosystems. 

 Grant opportunities include:

• Planning Grant - designed to help develop a conservation plan that identifies the values and threats that impact the health of our coldwater ecosystems that have naturally reproducing trout.  The collected information can be used as a catalyst for more comprehensive planning or for development of watershed improvements projects. Planning grants average around $5,000.

• Implementation Grant - designed to provide funding to projects recommended in a completed conservation plan or report. Potential projects must enhance, conserve or protect the coldwater stream for which the coldwater conservation plan was originally completed.  Implementation grants average around $7,000.

For more information, including the grant applications, visit 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers a Small Grants Program. The program is a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out projects involving long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats for the benefit of all wetlands-associated migratory birds. The deadline is October 31. Click here for more information.