Montgomery Soil Conservation District
Montgomery County, Maryland
Maryland's Conservation Buffer Initiative
Click the image above for more program information
Applications are now being accepted for Maryland's 2024-2025 Conservation Buffer Initiative. This program offers attractive incentive payments to plant trees next to streams, easy sign-up, and a full range of management options for farmers who want to improve the health of local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. Click the buttons below to find the application and program requirements.
Maryland Agricultural Cost-Share (MACS) Program
Agricultural operations participating in a MACS cost-share programs are required to certify that they have a current Nutrient Management Plan (NMP).
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This form is now required for any application to the MACS program, whether it is for a BMP or Cover Crop. The cooperator is to bring this completed form to the District when submitting an application to a MACS or Cover Crop Program.
Cover Crop Program
Cover crops improve soil productivity and protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Planted after the fall harvest, cover crops help absorb unused plant nutrients remaining in the soil and prevent erosion over the winter months. The Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program provides grants to farmers who plant cover crops of wheat, rye, barley, or other small grains following the fall harvest of summer crops.
Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share
The Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program provides farmers with grants to cover up to 87.5 percent of the cost to install conservation measures known as best management practices on their farms to prevent soil erosion, manage nutrients and safeguard water quality in streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
State Forest Action Plan Public Listening Sessions
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, with the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology of the University of Maryland, will host six public listening sessions in May to aid in the development of Maryland Forest Service’s 2020 Forest Action Plan.
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View the 2015 plan here.
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Click below to see the press release with registration links.