By Ellen Friedrich, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
The Best Management Practice (BMP) Program offers both technical and financial assistance to farmers who want to protect and promote water quality through improving the built infrastructure on their farm. The BMP program provides free engineering services and up to 90% cost share on eligible practices. Some examples of BMP eligible practices are:
- Manure storage structures
- Composting stack pads
- Barnyard runoff collection systems
- Gutters & ditches to divert clean water
- Laneway development and stream crossings for livestock
- Milk house waste collection and treatment systems
Since 2020, the BMP program has provided nearly $18 million in cost share supporting water quality improvements on over 180 Vermont farms. These investments have helped to both improve farm infrastructure and make a lasting impact on Vermont waters.
One of the many Vermont farms which have received BMP support is Osgood’s Organic Farm, a small, grass-fed dairy and beef farm in Corinth run by George and Mary Osgood. With the help of BMP technical assistance and funding, the Osgoods installed a covered asphalt barnyard next to their milking barn, providing a clean, non-eroding surface where the cows can safely congregate and where manure can be easily stacked and managed. A hoop structure covering the barnyard prevents rain from mixing with agricultural wastes in the barnyard, and a swale safely diverts the clean rainwater which runs off the hoop structure to an adjacent pasture. This project is a win for water quality by preventing agricultural runoff and a win for the farm by enabling improved barnyard conditions and management!
Ready to make improvements to your farm too? Applications to receive technical and/or financial assistance through the Agency of Agriculture’s Best Management Practice (BMP) Program are due by May 1, 2025.
Why apply now? Submitting your applications by May 1st ensures an initial field visit from state engineers this spring. Keep in mind that state-designed projects won’t be ready for construction until one year after the initial visit so, if you are aiming for a 2026 project, now is the time to apply!
Don’t miss out! Applications submitted after May 1st will likely not receive an engineering visit until spring of 2026.
Visit http://agriculture.vermont.gov/bmp for more information on the BMP Program and to apply. If you have any questions, please contact the BMP Program Coordinator, Emma Redel at 802-261-5628.
Image: The Osgood’s covered barnyard area, installed with help from the BMP program, provides a clean area for manure storage & livestock, and eliminates runoff concerns.
