By Ellen Friedrich, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
The Best Management Practices (BMP) Program provides technical and financial assistance to farmers for the implementation of engineered, structural improvements on farmsteads which are designed to protect and improve water quality. The BMP program provides up to 90% cost share on eligible practices. The following are some examples of BMP eligible practices:
- Manure storage structures
- Composting stack pads
- Barnyard runoff collection systems
- Gutter & 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 40 million dollars in cost share supporting water quality improvements on about 130 different farms across the state. The Severy Farm, owned and operated by Nate and Karianne Severy, is one of the many farms which has received technical and financial assistance through the BMP program.
The Severy Farm is a small 100% grassfed and organic dairy in Cornwall, VT. With the help of BMP funding, the Severys did a major revamp of their waste collection and management systems. They replaced an old and damaged concrete barnyard, created a gravel stack pad to store solid manure, and built a reception pit with a pump system to collect milkhouse waste and liquid manure from an adjacent holding area. Liquid waste and runoff generated from each of these components is now fully collected in a clay-lined earthen manure pit, and a new access road was added to enable proper management of the pit. These updates not only supported the Severy family in more securely capturing their waste and meeting their water quality goals, but they have also proven to be a major labor-saver for the farm.
Applications to receive technical and/or financial assistance through the Agency’s Best Management Practices (BMP) Program are due by April 1, 2024. Applications received by April 1st will receive an initial field visit from state engineers this spring. On average, state-designed projects receiving BMP financial assistance are not ready to begin construction until one year after the initial engineering field visit is completed. So, if you are interested in a potential BMP project for 2025, this is the perfect time to submit a BMP application! Applications submitted after April 1st will likely not receive an engineering visit until spring of 2025.
Visit http://agriculture.vermont.gov/bmp for more information on the BMP Program and to find an application. If you have any questions, please contact the BMP program coordinators Ellen Friedrich (802-261-5629) or Emma Redel (802-261-5628).
The top image depicts the Severy Farm before BMP project implementation. The bottom image depicts the Severy Farm with the new manure pit, barnyard, stack pad, and access road installed with the help of BMP funds.