|
        Links   NRCS Soil Quality Publications (printable)    Agronomy Fact Sheets    |
The District maintains a separate agricultural office that is located with the USDA agricultural offices in the Meadowlands. This provides a one stop shopping center for the farmers of Washington County and enables our employees to work closely with the USDA agencies. Washington County, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, is ranked 3rd in the state for dry hay, 4th in alfalfa hay, and 7th in all types of forage. Our county is also ranked 1st in total sheep and lambs, 3rd in the total number of farms, and 2nd in the total number of beef and sheep farms. In addition, we have a tremendous horse industry, both pleasure and professional, in Washington County. Our District, with assistance from the USDA-NRCS, applied for a DEP Growing Greener Grant for the Cross Creek Watershed in 2004 and was awarded $70,000. The final practices were completed in 2008. The Grant has been completed and finalized. In addition, the Partners for Wildlife Program at California University of Pennsylvania has been very successful in obtaining grants from various other sources for riparian stream corridor restoration in several watersheds in our county, including Pike Run, Pigeon Creek, Ten Mile Creek, Cross Creek, and Buffalo Creek. Together this partnership of the USDA, Partners for Wildlife, and the Conservation District are installing steam bank fencing and restoring more miles of riparian corridor than any other county in Pennsylvania. No-Till Seeder: The District's No-Till Seeder program has been a very successful program since we purchased our first seeder in 1993. In 2006 the District replaced the previous seeder with a new Hay Buster seeder, which is able to seed a ten foot width and has rear mounted support wheels.  The program pays for itself while providing an important service to the agricultural community. During 2008 the seeder was used on 752 acres of farmland by seventeen farmers in Washington and Greene Counties. Crops that were seeded included Reed Canary grass, Oats, Alfalfa, Brome Grass, Sorghum, Birdsfoot Treefoil, Orchard grass, Switchgrass, Rye, Clover, Timothy, and hay mixture. If you are interested in borrowing the seeder, please read the guidelines, then call 724-228-6774 x10. Additional copies of forms can be found in the column to the right. Project Grass: The Conservation District supports and promotes the use of roatational grazing systems. Technical assistance is provided by the NRCS, our Ag Office and the Project Grass Coordinator for the region, J.B. Harrold. Our Agricultural Administrator, John Hewitt, serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Southwest Project Grass chapter committee. Click the Southwest Project Grass link to the left for more information. In 2008 a project consisting of 830 feet of 2 strand high tensile fencing and 1,951 feet of 4 strand high tensile fencing was installed for a grazing system under a Project Grass Growing Greener Grant. The remainder of the project consisting of two pressurized watering systems will be installed in the spring of 2009.  The Conservation District and the Southwest Project Grass Chapter co-hosted the 2007 Statewide Project Grass Conference in October of 2007 at the Meadowlands Holiday Inn. The two worked closely with the Penn's Corner RC&D Council to ensure a quality conference. Approximately 150 people attended this two day event which was held in conjuncture with the 2007 Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the Devon Cattle Association and included farm visits to two area farms. There were farmers in attendence from as far away as Texas and Maine, and the conference was an extremely successful event. Nutrient Management Program: In addition to the Nutrient Management funding provided by the PA Department of Agriculture for conservation districts, the PDA also made funding available in 1999 for the hiring of Agriculture Conservation Technicians. The purpose of these technicians was to augment the services provided by the USDA. We continue to employ a Nutrient Management Specialist, John Hewitt, to provide service to Washington County. In 2008, four nutrient management plans were reviewed and approved, and two plans were revised. The total number of farm acres in Washington County (as of December 2008) planned under NMA is 7,383.7 |
Resources and Forms Request for Conservation District Assistance (pdf) General Permit Form - Fillable form for all GPs (word) General Permit 6 -Agricultural Crossings and Ramps (pdf) General Permit 9 - Agricultural Activities (pdf) No-till Seeder Guidelines (pdf) No-till Seeder Request Form (pdf) No-till Seeder Payment Sheet (pdf) Prime Farmland Soils Fact Sheet (pdf) Farmland Soils of Statewide Importance Fact Sheet (pdf) Fencing Contractors (pdf) Equipment Contractors (pdf) Revisions to PA Nutrient Management Regulations (pdf) Nutrient Management Fact Sheet (pdf) Warm Season Grasses Fact Sheet (pdf) Intro to Nutrient Management Concepts (pdf) Plant Nutrient Stocks and Flows Fact Sheet (pdf) Nutrient Management Decision-making Fact Sheet (pdf) Nutrient Management Performance Criteria Fact Sheet (pdf) Strategies for Extending the Grazing Season (pdf) Pennsylvania's Nutrient Management Act (pdf) Nutrient Management Planning Overview (pdf) Livestock and Poultry Mortality Disposal in PA (pdf) |
| ©2010 Washington County Conservation District |