Barriers to the Implementation of Best Management Practices in the Pequea Creek Watershed A Report by Lancaster Farmland Trust
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Lead Authors: Gordon Hoover, Agricultural Outreach Coordinator, Lancaster Farmland Trust Amy Baumann, Development Coordinator, Lancaster Farmland Trust This report was made possible with support from The Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency Region 3, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement CB96336601 and CB96358501 to Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document.”
Barriers to the Implementation of Best Management Practices in the Pequea Creek Watershed: A Report by Lancaster Farmland Trust
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Barriers to the Implementation of Best Management Practices in the Pequea Creek Watershed: A Report by Lancaster Farmland Trust May 2021 Abstract Lancaster County’s quest for clean and clear water by 2040 can seem daunting given our impact on Pennsylvania’s nutrient and sediment loading. Many years ago, when the breadth and scope of our area’s water quality problems became a reality for Lancaster Farmland Trust, we struggled to convince many of the farmers we work with of the importance of conservation on their properties. The first hurtle to overcome for many farmers was securing an Ag E&S and/or Manure Management plan, as required by law, and many were resistant. In our experience, however, as the community-mindset around conservation has evolved, and due to the dedicated work of many organizations and community members committed to water quality improvements, resistance to plan development has shrunken considerably. The remaining hurtles that keep Lancaster County, and subsequently the Chesapeake Bay, from achieving its water quality improvement goals, are the barriers that keep farmers from implementing their plan and the agricultural best management practices that plan recommends. Over the past two years, our Agricultural Outreach Coordinator, Gordon Hoover, has visited over 400 farms in Paradise, Leacock and Salisbury Townships. During these visits, Mr. Hoover meets with farmers one-on-one on their properties, reviewing plans, discussing conservation benefits, and building the type of trusted relationships necessary for real forward progress on clean water. Of the over 400 farms visited across the Pequea Creek Watershed, 242 had current Ag E&S and/or Manure Management Plans already in place (60 in Paradise, 66 in Leacock, and 116 in Salisbury). This presented an incredible opportunity to review those plans with the farmers, discover whether those plans were fully implemented, and evaluate reasons for the farmers’ hesitancy or inability to do so. This critically important qualitative data received directly from the farmers in the Pequea Creek Watershed is time consuming to acquire, but crucial to understanding what we know to be a common occurrence in Lancaster County – a farm with a plan that has not been fully implemented. The result of this meticulous and labor-intensive work is a clearer picture of the five barriers that Lancaster Farmland Trust believes block Lancaster County farmers, and in particular Plain Sect farmers, from implementing their conservation plans and installing best management practices on their properties. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
A Culture of Self-sufficiency Realities of the Agricultural Business Insufficient Funding Complexity of BMP Implementation Programs A Lack of Trusted Relationships
As Lancaster Farmland Trust works towards water quality improvement throughout our area, we have employed strategic adjustments to address some of these barriers and have enjoyed recent success as a result in moving farmers forward with BMP implementation. State and federal agencies, organizations, and all those concerned about the health of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed cannot completely resolve every barrier we have discovered. However, it is critical to understand the community we serve and make appropriate modifications where we can to best advance and scale water quality improvements in the Pequea Creek Watershed, across Lancaster County, and into the Chesapeake Bay.
Barriers to the Implementation of Best Management Practices in the Pequea Creek Watershed: A Report by Lancaster Farmland Trust
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Problem Statement The small family farms of Lancaster County are one of its greatest treasures. Our county’s 5,650 farms provide fresh, local food, sustain our rich agricultural economy, and protect the beautiful vistas that stretch across the landscape. Over the past 30 years, Lancaster Farmland Trust has honored these farm families and their work through the preservation of over 32,000 acres of this vital and productive farmland. The small farms that dot the landscape of Lancaster County, while beautiful and essential to our quality of life, pose a challenge in addressing the urgent need for agricultural conservation practices and water quality improvement for our area and for our downstream neighbors. How can we create sweeping and impactful improvements to water quality when the problem is spread out over thousands of acres under the operation of thousands of individual farm families? Compounding this challenge is the reality that many of our area’s farmers are part of the Plain Sect community and hence somewhat resistant to change and/or advice from people outside their individual, and often geographically small, church districts. There is, understandably, a hesitancy to implement what to many, are radical changes to generations-old farming practices. These small farmers also face particular economic stresses and often hesitate to reach out to funders for assistance. The populations within the municipalities of the Pequea Creek Watershed are no different. Paradise, Leacock and Salisbury Townships are mostly rural with large populations of Old Order Mennonite and/or Amish farmers who share many of these concerns and stresses. Complicating these realities of population is the starkness of Lancaster County’s water quality problem. According to the Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan for the Chesapeake Bay, “without the support of Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake Bay cannot be restored. Even more importantly, the water that feeds into the Chesapeake Bay is local to Pennsylvania. It is crucial that the local waters of Pennsylvania be restored for use by our citizens.” Lancaster County has the most critical role to play in this difficult restoration effort. As documented in Lancaster County’s Countywide Action Plan, Lancaster County is the highest loading county in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed. By 2025, Lancaster County needs to reduce 11.46M lbs of nitrogen, .47M lbs of phosphorous, and 287.61M lbs of sediment to meet its pollutant reduction goals. To put it more succinctly, 33% of Pennsylvania’s nitrogen reduction goal must come from Lancaster County alone. If Lancaster County fails, then Pennsylvania will fail in meeting its pollutant reduction obligations. The environmental need to clean Lancaster County’s water is pressing and enormous. Lancaster County’s Pequea Creek Watershed was one of the first watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay targeted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for remediation and remains one of the highest pollutant-loading watershed in Lancaster County. The watershed encompasses 148 square miles and is on Pennsylvania’s Section 303(d) List of Impaired Streams. Surveys conducted by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission indicate that the impairment is the result of excessive nutrient and sediment loading caused primarily by agricultural activities. The Pequea Creek Watershed is in dire need of aggressive conservation initiatives that address pollutant loading on farms – primarily through the implementation of effective agricultural best management practices. Lancaster Farmland Trust believes that the solution to Pequea Creek Watershed’s impairment, and that of all Lancaster County, can be found in the implementation of BMPs on its extensive farmland. That is why it is crucial now, more than ever, to reach out to farmers in this community to determine the remaining barriers that exist that discourage them from implementing agricultural best management practices, even after a conservation plan is in hand.
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Background Since it was established, Lancaster Farmland Trust has earned a reputation as a trusted resource-provider for the agricultural community in Lancaster County. Our work in assisting farmers with water quality improvements goes back more than a decade. Recognizing the important role played by municipalities in the protection of farmland, Lancaster Farmland Trust established its municipal outreach program in 2006 with a grant from the William Penn Foundation. Since then, Lancaster Farmland Trust has worked with municipalities throughout Lancaster County to develop agricultural zoning ordinances, establish agricultural security zones, develop and implement transferable development rights programs, conduct farm assessments, identify partnerships with landowners, and implement policies to require conservation plans on farms. To date, we have assisted 12 municipalities with technical and financial resources related to conservation planning and the implementation of best management practices, and completed assessments on nearly 2,000 farms. Lancaster Farmland Trust’s assessment work began in the Pequea Creek Watershed in 2013, as we utilized another grant from the William Penn Foundation to conduct assessments on all 430 farms in the watershed’s Subbasin 1. Staff documented existing best management practices, evaluated baseline compliance, and identified opportunities for the implementation of new BMPs. Subbasin 1 was an area in the Pequea Creek Watershed that had been targeted for TMDL allocations and identified for remediation. The data from the assessments was shared with the municipalities within the subbasin including West
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Lampeter, Strasburg, Pequea and Providence Townships as a way to demonstrate opportunities for water quality improvement through the implementation of agricultural best management practices vs. traditional grey infrastructure. While we met face-to-face with farmers during these assessments, the focus of this work was finding out what was already on the ground, and how to secure Ag E&S and/or Manure Management plans. Our assessment work continued into other municipalities. In 2014, through a Technical Assistance grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Lancaster Farmland Trust conducted BMP assessments on all 46 farms within an unnamed tributary of the Mill Creek in Upper Leacock Township. In 2015, East Lampeter Township engaged Lancaster Farmland Trust as a Technical Assistance Provider through NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Technical Capacity Grants Program. Lancaster Farmland Trust began conducting assessments on all 148 farms within the municipality to collect baseline data. Until this technical capacity project, agricultural BMP and operations data had never been collected on farms in East Lampeter Township. Other Townships followed, including Warwick and East Earl, all leveraging Lancaster Farmland Trust’s experience with the farming community to determine the state of conservation on their municipalities’ farms. Up to this point, these assessment visits primarily served as a first point of contact with the farmers, just to document what BMPs were already on the farms and to encourage farmers to secure conservation plans and provide resources on how to complete that task. As years passed and more farms secured plans, a different question emerged. Why are the best management practices that these conservation plans recommend not going into the ground? It became evident that a new approach was critical, and strategic adjustments needed to be made for Lancaster County to hope to achieve its water quality improvement goals. As a result, Lancaster Farmland Trust launched another initiative in Salisbury Township in 2019 through funding from a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant. The township is of particular importance as it is located in the headwaters of the Pequea Creek Watershed. Project partners and township officials worked collaboratively to catalyze increased adoption of farm conservation practices by building a collective community conservation mindset. The project gained significant momentum and utilized innovative community engagement strategies (demonstration farms, peer-to-peer problem solving and intensive relationship building) to transition farmers toward compliance and environmental sustainability. A key strategy of the project was using trusted farm advisors – advisors who can demonstrate the benefits of conservation planning, document the current state of conservation plans on farms, and assess any barriers to the implementation of those plans and/or best management practices they recommend. LFT has seen great success with this new strategy. By using this strategy of approaching farmers with a trusted member of the community and an entry-level interaction like an assessment, wordof-mouth has become our biggest asset. Once members of the community have positive first interactions, or hear about the benefits of conservation from their own community members, a larger pool of potential farms for BMP implementation materializes. This community-wide change is now spilling over the borders of Salisbury Township, into neighboring municipalities and down the Pequea Creek Watershed. It is with this success in mind that Lancaster Farmland Trust secured funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Campbell Foundation to expand this effort into Paradise and Leacock Townships. Through the work of LFT’s Agricultural Outreach Coordinator, every farm in these townships was personally visited and guided through an assessment process, received new conservation plans when necessary, and more importantly discussed any barriers to BMP implementation if their plan was current.
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Research Methods This project, funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Campbell Foundation, has assisted Paradise, Leacock and Salisbury Townships with moving their farmers into compliance, and resulted in the following activities: A. Work towards 100% compliance by farmers with Ag E&S and manure/nutrient management plans within Salisbury, Paradise and Leacock Townships. B. Along with project partner TeamAg Inc, produced 50 new conservation plans (Ag E&S and/or manure/nutrient management plans) on farms that do not yet have the required plans within the selected townships. C. Assessed the state of implementation of already completed conservation plans and best management practices on 75 farms to identify successes and/or barriers to implementation and documented those barriers for dissemination to the broader community. Outcomes of these activities included the following: A. All operating farms over 10 acres were visited by LFT staff. Once in the field, staff determined that total number of operating farms to be 105 in Paradise, 106 in Leacock and 195 in Salisbury, totaling 406 assessments at operating farms in all townships. All farm surveys were entered into LFT’s internal tracking database. B. Over 150 new and/or updated plans were produced across Salisbury, Paradise and Leacock Townships. Upon completion, these plans were filed with the Lancaster County Conservation District for inclusion in PracticeKeeper, assisting the townships with meeting water quality goals and helping Pennsylvania meet its Chesapeake Bay milestones. C. Of the 406 farms in the Pequea Creek Watershed across three townships visited by Mr. Hoover, 242 had current Ag E&S and/or Manure Management Plans (60 in Paradise, 66 in Leacock, and 116 in Salisbury). This presented an incredible opportunity to review those plans with the farmers, discuss whether those plans are fully implemented and evaluate reasons for the farmers’ hesitancy or inability to do so. Lancaster Farmland Trust staff then evaluated and synthesized the qualitative information shared by those farmers to determine the five main barriers to BMP implementation in the Pequea Creek Watershed. LFT is proud of this resulting report, as it represents the real “boots on the ground” effort required to overcome the barriers preventing water quality improvement in Lancaster County. As Lancaster Farmland Trust learned over the last decade, it is not often effective to invite farmers to a meeting or send out letters about conservation. The best information is gleaned from the slow, but critical process of meeting farmers where they are, at their properties, and building the types of trusting relationships that will allow them to participate and share. Findings While it is true that the population of farmers in Paradise, Leacock and Salisbury Townships are mostly Plain Sect owned and operated, a better descriptor is to call them small farms. Due to their size, it is also fair to characterize them as “change averse”. Farms that failed to address changes in production
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agriculture in recent decades tended to stay small. On the other hand, farms that address change and grow to meet business challenges have remained successful in commodity businesses. This failure to grow on Lancaster County’s small farms is mostly due to the “glass ceiling” imposed by the Amish Church leadership that mandated farms not grow beyond a size for which one family could supply labor. Therefore, today we see many Amish farmers exiting non-profitable farm operations for non-agricultural jobs that come with better wages, benefits, and hours. In Lancaster County, locals refer to these laborers as the “lunch box” Amish, as they leave their farms during the day to work in other industries. This is occurring on small farms all across America, much as it has occurred for the last 100 years. This reality for the small farm family is an important framework for considering the challenges faced when working with the farmers of the Pequea Creek Watershed on conservation needs and regulations. Despite the economic challenges confronting small farms, the farmers in these townships are good stewards of their land and cattle. We know this because with every assessment visit, Lancaster Farmland Trust discovers many BMPs already implemented, but unaccounted for in any conservation plan or database. The small, individually owned farms are the landscape on which we must implement best management practices to achieve water quality improvements for the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Therefore, the following barriers to implementation must be considered and addressed when working in this community. 1. A Culture of Self-sufficiency The cultural imperative of self-sufficiency continues to be a roadblock for large-scale acceptance of the implementation of agricultural best management practices. While Mr. Hoover found that it is not necessarily forbidden within the community, participation in government programs and acceptance of government funding is often not encouraged. Given that many small farms are struggling with cash flows, and recognizing the expense of many of the recommended best management practices, this hesitancy to accept government funding can make implementation impossible. Mr. Hoover did note some movement in this area, however. Farmers did report that due to the need to survive and preserve an agricultural way of life and meet regulatory demands, certain church districts have become more progressive in this area. Some Plain Sect attitudes are changing, with some districts allowing families more freedom to adopt new practices like their families’ members who are no longer in agriculture. Mr. Hoover saw this first hand, as almost every farmer in both Paradise and Leacock Township utilized the PA-DEP Agricultural Plan Reimbursement Program for conservation plans. This is a welcome change from years past, and freed up funding dollars for agricultural plans, including more robust Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans - bringing farmers even closer to the BMP implementation stage. 2. Realities of the Agricultural Business A second barrier that Mr. Hoover continued to hear in the field from farmers is an understandable anxiety around the future of the agricultural economy. There is no doubt that the future of the small farm is in question. In particular, Lancaster Farmland Trust continues to see farms exit the dairy industry for increased produce production, value-added product production, and/or other cash crop ventures. Therefore, most small farmers are reluctant to accept funding for, or self-pay for, best management practices on a farm that might completely shift to a different agricultural operation in a few years.
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These vulnerabilities in the agricultural economy have led Lancaster Farmland Trust to provide more flexible options for farmers. In some instances, a farmer who is exiting the dairy industry may be more open to particular kinds of best management practices, like a buffer, since extensive pasture acreage may no longer be necessary. However, a diminished agricultural sector can also contribute to the reduction of farms and increased development in Lancaster County. Lancaster Farmland Trust believes that the solutions to our water quality impairment can be found in the implementation of best management practices on farms, not in unchecked development of valuable soil. Work must continue to bolster the health of the small farm and ensure that as best management practices go into the ground, they remain there in perpetuity. 3. Insufficient Funding Poor cash flow on small farms requires 100% implementation cost share programs. Simply put, farmers do not have the money to implement the best management practices recommended in their Ag E&S and/or Manure Management Plans. Per farm in Lancaster County, which average 70-acres, a typical suite of best management practices requires $200,000, not including design and engineering costs. Expanding this to the entire county, Lancaster would need an estimated $72 million annually to achieve its water quality goals, a number that far exceeds current funding levels. As mentioned previously, Mr. Hoover has witnessed a new willingness from the Plain Sect community to accept both federal and state funding for BMP implementation projects. The communities within the Pequea Creek Watershed also continue to show a willingness to accept those funds through a trusted organization, like Lancaster Farmland Trust. Lancaster County cannot capitalize on that new willingness, however, without sufficient funds coming into the county to get these expensive best management practices into the ground, including funding that covers the administration of these projects. 4. Complexity of BMP Implementation Programs Farmers are entrepreneurial in nature. When a small farmer makes a decision to change something on his or her farm, the change happens quickly and often through a farmer’s own means. As Mr. Hoover noted during his visits with farmers, when he discusses the timeframe, the costs, the multiple agencies and contractors involved, farmers are stunned. This complex web flies in the face of this entrepreneurial spirit that could accomplish the same implementation work in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost. Below are several complexities of this process that are mentioned by farmers as barriers to their participation: a. Most programs require applications, onerous landowner agreements, rankings systems, engineering and complex permitting. These requirements can be both intimidating to farmers and often greatly extend the timeframes for implementation. For a place of business that depends on growing seasons, the uncertainty surrounding when the actual implementation will happen can be a deal-breaker. b. Projects can take between 2-5 years from a point of assessment to final implementation. Again, for farmers who think in terms of growing seasons and who pride themselves on efficiency, this type of timeframe for a project is unacceptable. c. The prevailing wage requirement for many funding programs makes projects much more expensive and pushes cost-share programs out of reach for small farmers. d. Most funding sources require match, or only fund portions of projects, requiring the use of several grants to complete one project. This can extend the life of a project as an organization looks for additional funding and make it difficult to pay contractors when funds are coming from several different agencies at different times. Not only does this extend the timeframe for finishing
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projects and increase the complexity for landowners, but it also threatens both the farmer’s and sponsoring organization’s relationship with contractors. As Jeb Musser, Lancaster Farmland Trust’s Director of Land Protection commented, "I worry that consistent delays in timely payment to contractors may result in tarnished relationships between conservation organizations and those doing on-the-ground construction. Simple and efficient payment systems are a must to ensure quality contractors continue to bid, and bid fairly, on conservation projects." 5. A Lack of Trusted Relationships These small farms are visited by conservation Technical Service Providers (TSPs) often, and for good reason. Small farmers often need to hear the conservation message several times before deciding to move forward. However, the TSP staff turnover rate is so high that a different person delivers that message each time. This turnstile of providers makes it hard for farmers to develop any level of trust with the TSP, and sours their feelings towards conservation. These farmers have worked for generations based on friend, family, and community relationships. Mr. Hoover reports that many farmers simply express concerns to him about “who is walking on my farm” or “who will be coming to do this work”. Additionally, many farmers report that TSPs do not have practical farm experience, which is invaluable when discussing how best management practices will change the daily workings and business realities of a farm. Much of the conservation messaging comes from Federal and State agencies that the farmer does not know, nor trust. Lancaster Farmland Trust has come to realize that for these projects to be successful, we must utilize trusted farm advisors to deliver tailored and consistent outreach and engagement messages. You cannot simply invite our farmers to a meeting to mandate conservation plans or send a new TSP every year to do an assessment. You must meet with them on their farms with a trusted, knowledgeable farm advisor, and do the slow, but critical work of addressing their concerns. Action Items Mr. Hoover’sLFT’s work in visiting 242 farms with completed conservation plans yielded invaluable qualitative data on the barriers to implementation facing farmers in the Pequea Creek Watershed. The recognition of these barriers has encouraged Lancaster Farmland Trust to continue our strategy of promoting a conservation mindset in these townships through trusted farm advisors, and through the family and friend networks in the Pequea Creek Watershed. To address some of the barriers described in this report, Lancaster Farmland Trust suggests the following strategies to yield greater success for water quality improvements across Lancaster County: 1. The Utilization of Trusted Farm Advisors: Engaging trusted farm advisors and township officials to lead the on-the-ground work of these types of projects continue to eliminate barriers to participation. As noted by Mr. Hoover, “These farmers have expressed great value in our farmer-to-farmer conservation outreach program. First, they like the informal farm visits where they can get their basic conservation questions answered and farm plans reviewed without any regulatory pressure. Secondly, they appreciate our help to connect them to the correct resources for additional information and help developing farm conservation plans, BMP development and funding. This is especially valuable because we can provide information about all the resources whereas many conservation groups can only provide information on their programs. Farmers really appreciate our no pressure down-to-earth approach.” 2. Harnessing the Power of Partnerships:
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Working through the local municipality to create local community support is critical to removing some of the cultural barriers to BMP implementation. One of the most critical elements of Lancaster Farmland Trust’s success in Salisbury Township continues to be the commitment of the Salisbury Township leadership towards a community-wide conservation mindset. As described by TeamAg’s President, Chris Sigmund, “The greatest accomplishment associated with LFT’s project is the successful partnership that has been established with Salisbury Township. The Township’s leadership and vision for clean water through the engagement of landowners allowed the project to take hold and flourish. The Township Supervisors invested Salisbury Township’s human and financial resources in ways that allowed the project to successfully connect with the Amish community that dominates that project geography and the Pequea Creek Watershed. LFT’s project model is presently being replicated in additional townships that are located in the Pequea Creek Watershed.” Given the realities of Lancaster County agriculture’s small family farms, and the dramatic improvements we must make to improve water quality, it is only strong partnerships across several sectors that can positively address the environmental needs of both our area, and those of the Chesapeake Bay. 3. Simplification of the Funding Process: Given the realities of the financial struggles facing farms in Lancaster County, organizations must work to develop funding sources that meet the needs of small farmers. Lancaster Farmland Trust and partner organizations have worked hard and devoted significant amounts of capacity to seek out effective costshare programs for our interested farmers. Through a combination of existing federal, state and local costshare and incentive programs that include Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVEST), Resource Enhancement & Protection Program (REAP), and the PA-DEP Agricultural Plan Reimbursement Program, farmers across these townships have received critical assistance in acquiring conservation plans and critical BMP implementations at little to no cost. For example, several farms in Salisbury Township have used multiple methods to achieve success – PennVEST, self-pay, REAP, and Lancaster Farmland Trust grant dollars. Certain projects include farms who have received assistance from Stroud Water Research Center, LFT and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. It is clear that to achieve whole-farm conservation systems, a team of partners and diverse funders is crucial for success. However, the complexities of essentially piecing each farm project together from multiple funders exerts a tremendous capacity toll on the farmers and the assisting organizations. Any attempt to scale this work in meaningful ways will crumble under the weight of the administrative burdens these funding programs create. These complexities in the funding process seem to be growing as unprecedented levels of implementation funds are beginning to flow into Lancaster County. On behalf of Lancaster County, the Lancaster Clean Water Partners recently received approval for a $7.4 million NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant for the implementation of BMPs over the next five year. In addition, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation recently was awarded funding via EPA to accelerate restoration through agricultural best management practices in identified “most effective basins” (or MEBs). This opportunity could also provide millions of dollars to address water quality in Lancaster County through agricultural best management practices. While this influx in funding is promising for overcoming farmers’ financial barriers to BMP implementation, a majority of these funds are earmarked for implementation, and not for the manpower necessary to drive projects to a “shovel ready” position. This is why building capacity – now – is critical to our County’s Chesapeake Bay strategy. No matter how much conservation money flows into the County, meaningful and sustained change cannot be accomplished without farmers who are ready and willing to implement and maintain BMPs on their farms. As we have learned from the success of this project, the best strategies for achieving this goal are the continued use of trusted farm advisors and community leaders to create a community conservation mindset that diffuses amongst these smaller
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church districts. In addition, increased funding cannot come with increased administrative burdens, as the complexities of piecing together farm projects remain a significant barrier to the implementation of best management practices on the small farms across the Pequea Creek Watershed. If funders believe, as Lancaster Farmland Trust does, that the solution to our water quality impairment problems resides in the implementation of agricultural best management practices on Lancaster County’s small farms, then the process of securing funding to deliver those BMPs must be simplified to most effectively and efficiently utilize each dollar. Conclusion Agricultural best management practices are not yet going into the ground fast enough for Lancaster County to meet its current pollutant reduction goals. Given that reality, it was critical to meet with and learn from the farmers who must make these changes to their properties. These conversations with over 200 farmers helped Lancaster Farmland Trust better understand the community we serve and make appropriate strategic modifications to best overcome any barriers to implementation and therefore scale water quality improvements in the Pequea Creek Watershed, across Lancaster County, and into the Chesapeake Bay. Lancaster Farmland Trust is optimistic that the agricultural community in Lancaster County, when approached through these proven strategies and engaged by strong partnership teams, is ready and committed to clean and clear water for Lancaster County and its downstream neighbors.
Barriers to the Implementation of Best Management Practices in the Pequea Creek Watershed: A Report by Lancaster Farmland Trust