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Washington County Conservation
District
Agricultural Office 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 4th 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, sheep, and goat farms. We rank 1st in total number of llama farms and 3rd in total number of mules, burros, and donkeys. In addition, we have a tremendous horse industry, both pleasure and professional, with Washington County ranking 4th in the state for number of horses. The District has obtained Growing Greener and 319 Grants for the Cross Creek, Raccoon Creek, and Buffalo Creek Watersheds in the time the Ag Division has been in existence. In addition, the Partners for Wildlife Program at California University of Pennsylvania has been very successful in obtaining Growing Greener grants and grants from various other sources for riparian stream corridor restoration in several watersheds in our county including Pike Run, Pigeon Creek, Ten Mile, Cross Creek, and Buffalo Creek Watersheds. Together this partnership of the USDA, Partners for Wildlife, and the Conservation District are installing stream 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 2009 the seeder was used on 473 acres of farmland by 21 farmers in Washington and Greene Counties. This was a decrease in total acres but an increase in the number of farmers using the drill. We believe that rising fuel costs have encouraged more farmers to use the no-till seeder more in recent years. This is evident in the increase in the number of farmers that are utilizing the program. This is a good thing when you consider that by using no-till you save on fuel and greatly reduce erosion of your valuable crop land. 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 2009 a project consisting of two pressurized watering systems was installed using funding from a Project Grass Growing Greener Grant.  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 2009, four nutrient management plans were reviewed and approved, and one plan was revised. The total number of farm acres in Washington County (as of December 2009) planned under NMA is 7,901 Conservation Stewardship Program: The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a working lands conservation program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and available on a nationwide basis. CSP offers technical and financial assistance to farmers for maintaining high standards of environmental stewardship. Assistance is available for both the active management of existing conservation systems and for implementing new conservation activities on land in agricultural production. Please follow the links below for more information: |
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) |
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