Tulpehocken Creek Land Treatment Program (PL566 Program)

In 1997, the LCCD, Berks County Conservation District, Berks Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service partnered to conduct an environmental assessment and wrote a watershed protection plan for the Tulpehocken Creek, which has its headwaters in Lebanon County.  As a result of this collaboration, federal funding was dedicated to provide technical and financial assistance to farmers in the Tulpehocken watershed for the installation of agricultural best management practices.  Examples of such practices are grassed waterways, streambank stabilization, fencing and buffers, and barnyard runoff control systems.  Funding for this program varies from year to year.  Download the PL566 form application on the right, which you can mail or drop-off to the LCCD.  Contact us if you have questions or for further information.

Park the Plow

This program was designed to help farmers transition into a continuous no-till system. Any farmer who is not currently using continuous no-till or, using continuous no-till on less than 50% of its acreage is can participate. A farm may enroll up to 250 acres in the program. Technical and equipment assistance will be provided to help guide producers through the transition period to continuous no-till. The program helps farmers who wish to apply for local and federal cost-share payments as well as those who may want to “trade their credits” under the state’s Nutrient Trading Program.

The farmers that enroll acres in the program must commit to keep their enrolled acres in continuous no-till for at least 3 years and always plant a cover crop after harvesting corn silage. Additionally, the farmers will need to follow a planned rotation for three consecutive years, work with a technical advisor and agree to keep/submit records per the planning process.

Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP)

REAP is a program that provides State income tax credits for no-till equipment and various agricultural best management practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  The State Conservation Commission (SCC) administers this program and receives all applications.  Click here to link to the State Conservation Commission’s REAP Program website for further information and to download an application. 

Currently, the SCC is not accepting applications, but may open the program for applications in mid-2009.  The LCCD does not receive applications.

The LCCD’s role in the program is to assist with outreach and also to verify that potential applicants have current conservation plan and nutrient management plans.  We also provide cost estimates for conservation practices included in REAP applications and final certification of completed practices prior to tax credits being certified by the SCC and issued by the State Treasury Department.

Nutrient Trading

Through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, farmers can certify nutrient credits for practices they install which substantially reduce nutrient runoff from their farms.  These credits can then be purchased by municipal sewage treatment plants or industry as a way to reach compliance with stricter nutrient discharge standards.

Currently, the market for buying and selling nutrient credits is not very “hot”.  However, this is likely to change, as new standards for waste water treatment plants take effect in 2010. 

In the spring of 2008, the LCCD implemented a nutrient trading grant project funded by DEP.  Through this grant we were able to assist two farms in the construction of poultry mortality composters.  We also assisted in certifying these practices for nutrient credits.

No-Till Farm Advisor Program

This ‘farmer to farmer’ advising program is designed as a model program to share more broadly new farming practices and techniques which will improve water quality and provide economic benefits to farmers through reduced labor, fuel and equipment costs. By implementing no-till practices the amount of nutrients and sediments flowing into the local streams is reduced. All participants will receive assistance to create a no-till transition plan for the next 3 years, including soil sampling, manure sampling and mapping.

The Lebanon County pilot project is one of three agricultural community-based partnerships launched in 2006 by the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network. The partnerships promote the effective use of conservation practices to reduce excess nutrients in surface and ground water, in a regional effort to improve the health of local waters and the Chesapeake Bay.

The Lebanon-area collaboration is supported by the Capital RC & D Area Council, Lebanon County Cooperative Extension, County Conservation District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the No-Till Sluggers Group (comprised of local farm producers) and the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network.