Agricultural Best Management Practices

1
Agricultural Best Management Practices

• Building Partnerships for Success-
• Donna Drewes, PP NRCS
• North Jersey RCD Council

2
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Technical standards to address water quality
  impairments
• Partnerships to support programs
• Funding to support planning and practice
  implementation
• Program delivery- case example

3
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Are there adequate technical standards available
  to address potential agricultural impacts to
  water quality?
• NRCS and Rutgers have established technical
  standards
• Additional standards could be developed for some
  specialty crops and production practices

4
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Partnerships
• Positive and effective programs need strong
  partnership base where
• Partners agree to support a common goal
• Concretely contribute to the success of the
  project
• Have an equal voice and place in the development
  of the program

5
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Partnerships contribute to success when
• All interested parties at the table
• Partners have an equal voice in the development
  of program goals, structure and implantation
• Program are structured to meet the needs of
  various policy and technical objectives
• Positive win/ win situation set up for all sides
  as much as possible

6
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Who are the key agricultural organizations?
• Technical Agencies
• State Agencies
• Agricultural Commodity Groups
• Non Government Organizations
• Farm Leadership

7
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Funding to support programs
• Cost share funding to support BMP implementation
• Staff to provide technical assistance to
  implement practices

8
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Cost share funding to support BMP implementation
• USDA Farm bill program funding (EQIP)
• NJ Dept. of Agriculture -Conservation Cost Share
  Program
• State Agricultural Development Committee
  Conservation Cost Share Program for preserved
  farms those enrolled in 8 year program

9
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Funding to support technical program
  implementation
• CCSP provides some funding for staff
• EPA 319 funding has also been successfully used
  to complement and leverage Federal agricultural
  program funding in NJ and nationwide
• This allows for program implementation
  flexibility not available from federal funding
  sources

10
Key Issues for Successful Agricultural BMP
Programs

• Technical staff resources for
• Farm planning
• Design of BMP systems
• Construction layout and inspection
• To conduct crop insect and weed scouting and
  implement crop management programs like
  integrated crop management

11
Agricultural BMP Partnership Example

• RCD has worked with Rutgers Cooperative
  Extension, NJDA, NRCS, Farm Bureau, NOFA, Soil
  Conservation Districts, farmers and farm industry
  groups to implement programs that reduce
  agricultural inputs from fertilizer and
  pesticides using both EPA 319 funding and EPA
  Pollution Prevention funding

12
Tools used to implement project

• Field Scouting to assess
• Insect problems
• Plant diseases
• Weed problems
• Wildlife damage

13
Tools used to implement project

• One on one technical assistance to farmers
• Review fertility, insect, and weed issues
• Serve as a second set of eyes in the fields

14
Results in Completed Project Areas
15
Lessons Learned

• Change takes time
• We need to remember that we are asking farmers to
  change the way they farm
• This represents an economic risk
• So we need to build strong trust between the
  farmers and the technical specialist to support
  the changes in production

16

• Thank you