Local agency has funds to assist with water quality on agricultural land
Do you have water quality concerns on your agricultural land? The Alexander Soil & Water Conservation District has funds to help. The Conservation Sign-up Period runs July 1 – July 31, 2017.
Alexander Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff are waiting to receive the first allocation of funding from the North Carolina Agriculture Cost Share Program for the 2017-2018 program year, which began on July 1, 2017. These program dollars are allocated from the state to address non-point source pollution from agricultural activites. They are available to assist farmers in the installation of conservation practices which help decrease the amount of sediment, animal waste, nutrients, chemicals and other potential pollutants from entering the surface and ground waters of the state.
Landowners and operators that were in agricultural production prior to July 2014 may apply for cost share assistance to install Best Management Practices (BMP’s) on their farm. These BMP’s include: sediment & erosion control, streambank stabilization, litter storage structures, poultry composting facilities, livestock exclusion from streams in conjunction with alternative watering systems, stocktrails and heavy-use areas for livestock in confined areas, and other practices that benefit water quality.
The SWCD office began the annual sign-up period for the program on July 1st and will accept applications through July 31st. At the end of this batching period, all applications will be prioritized according to a locally adopted ranking process based on water quality parameters. The applications providing the most water quality benefits will be approved for funding in priority order. Any applications that are not funded in the first batching period will be considered for funding in our second batching period for this program year. If you have applied in the past and were not funded last year, just call the office and let us know to roll your application over to stay eligible and be considered to receive funds for this year.
If you would like more information on our programs or wish to apply for funding, contact or visit the SWCD office. We are located next to the County Health Department, 374 1st Ave SW, Taylorsville, NC 28681, or phone (828) 632-0638.
