Share: 

Cover crop funding targeted for Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Delaware

First application deadline is April 21
April 8, 2017

Special funding is now available for Delaware farmers located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to plant cover crops. This effort focuses on improving water quality and soil health by targeting additional financial assistance in the watershed for Environmental Quality Incentive Program eligible farmers. The additional acres planted will help Delaware meet its Total Maximum Daily Loads and achieve the goals and milestones of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan through the uptake of excess nutrients and improved soil health.

Approximately $800,000 is available over the next two years to help Delaware landowners implement cover crops in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Farmers interested in planting cover crops in the Chesapeake Bay portion of Delaware are encouraged to visit their local USDA Service Center to sign up for this program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service accepts applications year round; however, the first application deadline is Friday, April 21. All applications received by then will be ranked and considered for funding.

The Delaware and Maryland - Meeting Watershed Implementation Plan Goals in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is a Regional Conservation Partnership Program project led by the Maryland Association of Conservation Districts, which partnered with the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts. The project goal is to increase the implementation of cover crops in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Delaware NRCS works with the Delaware Conservation Districts to address resource concerns on privately owned agricultural and forest lands.

For more information, contact the Sussex County USDA Service Center at 302-856-3990, Ext. 3, or go to www.de.nrcs.usda.gov.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter