Queenstown, Maryland (October 20, 2023) - The Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association is honored to administer 30 vouchers to Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) who partner with farmers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The voucher is good for $1,000 of technical support from a CCA to provide data management, coaching, and advanced nutrient management plan development until July 2024. Funding for the vouchers is provided by the Campbell Foundation.
The Mid-Atlantic 4R team has found that one barrier to growing 4R farming practices in the watershed is data management. The voucher program proposes to provide technical assistance directly to providers to help farms understand the language and data used to identify and implement precision agricultural practices and enable them to make more informed nutrient management decisions on their farms.
A pilot voucher program was performed in 2021 for farmers in Harford County, Maryland. "I saw an opportunity to engage with more farmers, maybe with other farmers that I hadn't been able to really engage on the next level of nutrient management technology," said Agribusiness partner in 2021. "And I'd stress that implementation is not a requirement. We can do the work to set it all up, but you don't have to do everything we suggest. But showing them some of the success we've had with some of the different tools, I think really started opening some farmer's eyes. It takes some of that risk away."
The vouchers will be limited to five per agribusiness until December 31, 2023. On January 1st, any remaining vouchers will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in the voucher program, complete this online form for our team to contact you, or contact Jenell directly. Jenell McHenry can be emailed at jenell.mdag@gmail.com or called at 443-262-6969.
More information and protocol about the program can be found online here.
