12/20/2011
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is offering free nutrient management planning (NMP) services to farmers to help them maximize profitability and minimize the environmental impact of farm runoff.
WVDA is currently focusing NMP activities in the state’s Eastern Panhandle, where concerns about the health of the Chesapeake Bay have prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a strict “pollution diet,” or total maximum daily load (TMDL), for the entire bay watershed.
“Nutrient management planning is a vital conservation practice because it provides the framework for many other conservation activities,” said West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass.
A NMP is a farm-specific plan that uses scientific analysis of soil samples, nutrient sources and farm management preferences to develop strategies that prevent excess nutrients from making their way into streams.
For example, a NMP provides farmers with the proper application rate for stored manure. Too little applied means plants won’t have adequate nutrients to optimize yield. Too much applied means the soil won’t absorb all the nutrients, creating the possibility for runoff into streams.
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus in streams can cause algae blooms in water that diminish oxygen levels and threaten aquatic animals.
A NMP also may recommend measures such as establishing buffer strips or setbacks to help prevent nutrient and sediment loss.
Commissioner Douglass said he continues his longtime support of farm conservation programs.
“I’ve requested funding for two additional nutrient management planners for our next fiscal year budget to help assist famers throughout the state, not just in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. We’re really trying to reach out to the farms that don’t have a NMP so they can take stock of their fertilizer use and environmental impact,” he said.
“I have always believed that farm conservation should be a cooperative venture with government and not an enforcement action by government. Numerous voluntary best management practices already have gone through cost-share programs. As we get even more farms with NMPs, I predict we’ll find that there are a lot more undocumented conservation practices on the ground than people would expect,” he said.
Farmers in Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties interested in developing a NMP should call Christine Barnes at 304-229-5828. Farmers in other areas should call WVDA’s Moorefield office at 304-538-2397.
Contact Information
Buddy Davidson, Communications Officer
304-558-3708; 304-541-5932 (cell)
bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us