[ Search PSU ]   

Conservation Opportunities for Pennsylvania Orchards - November 2006

November 10, 2006

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- An incentive program aimed at supporting environmentally friendly pest management and pesticide handling alternatives is available to tree fruit growers in Pennsylvania.

The program, Agriculture Management Assistance (AMA), is administered by the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The program offers a unique opportunity for Pennsylvania fruit growers to obtain Federal cost share funding for conservation related projects. Since the program’s inception three years ago, over $1 million in contracts covering hundreds of acres have been awarded.

In spite of this success, the number and geographic dispersion of fruit operations participating in the program have been relatively low, says Matt Harsh, economic development and marketing educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension in Adams County. “NRCS is hoping to attract more producers to the program and extend funds to more farms in 2007,” Harsh says.

Harsh explains that AMA is not a part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). “AMA is a separately funded NRCS program that is only available in 15 states that have historically low rates of participation in crop insurance. State level NRCS officials are given great latitude in administering these funds (as compared with EQIP funding) and the standard cost share rate for practices is 75 percent.” 

The program has four sub areas: pest management, irrigation, organic transition, and windbreaks. Of these, pest management and irrigation account for the vast majority of contracts that have been written. Under pest management, a variety of integrated pest management (IPM) related practices are available for cost share including advanced monitoring and scouting, reduced risk pesticides, mating disruption and encouraging beneficials, and several other IPM practices. IPM aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible. 

According to Harsh, actual amounts vary for each practice, but growers can receive up to $100 an acre per year in cost share on a maximum of 100 acres. “That’s $10,000 per year for three years to try out new IPM conservation practices.”

However, the program only covers new conservation practices, not ones that are already in place. Harsh explains that, like most NRCS programs, the AMA program is incentive driven. “They are designed to offer participants a financial incentive to try out new practices that have a demonstrable conservation value that they probably wouldn’t implement otherwise due to cost. Thus, you can only get reimbursed for implementing new practices that you aren’t currently doing.” 
According to Harsh, NRCS has been criticized in the past for not understand tree fruit farming. “Sure, NRCS has a great deal more expertise related to manure management and no-till than tree fruit IPM, however NRCS staff are becoming much more knowledgeable and are eager to learn about tree fruits. In fact, two researchers from Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center conducted training sessions on the basics of tree fruit IPM and helped to developing IPM protocols for NRCS staff to use in understanding and evaluating grower’s pest management plans.”

NRCS ranks projects based on which offer the greatest potential conservation value. Rankings are based on a point system that takes into account situations such as distance to surface water, number of surrounding houses, and number of practices a producer is interested in. The higher the point score, the higher the ranking. Copies of ranking sheets are available on the Pennsylvania NRCS Web site at http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ama/html/ama.html.

Harsh encourages all growers to look into this worthwhile program. “It takes work to participate, and everything is not always perfect. But for producers that are willing to work with NRCS staff and find common ground, the rewards can be significant,” he says.

To begin the application process, growers should fill out NRCS form ccc-1200, available at their local NRCS office and on the Web at
http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ama/html/ama.html v/programs/ama/html/ama.html. Harsh says it’s a simple, standard form that only requires a name, address, phone number, and signature. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and unlike other NRCS programs, AMA does not have a firm deadline date. Rather, state NRCS staff will set a cut-off date for applications, and will evaluate all contracts on file. 

For more information about the program, visit the Pennsylvania NRCS Web site (see above), contact your local NRCS office, or contact Harsh at (717) 334-6271, ext. 321 or e-mail rmh27@psu.edu.

The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and urban situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/. To view our archived news releases, see Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/10.html.