Stimulus Funds Pay for Farm Projects in Pennsylvania
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 12/24/2009 - 12:35pm.
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
Putting up a couple of manure storage pits and cleaning up the barnyard was something York County dairyman Leroy Walker has wanted to do ever since he thought about expanding his 190-cow dairy for his children to take over in the future.
The tough economy and, in particular, the low dairy prices seemed to put a wrench in his plans.
But recently he’s been dealt a lucky hand, thanks to the federal stimulus package. His project, which will run around $500,000, was recently approved for full funding through a program spearheaded by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Dozens of similar projects around Pennsylvania are also receiving full funding as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), otherwise known as the federal stimulus package.
In July, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation was approved to receive $14.9 million from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) to invest in agriculture best management practice (BMP) projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
PENNVEST acts as a facilitator of stimulus funds for water quality projects in the state.
According to David Wise, the foundation’s watershed restoration manager, the organization saw itself as the perfect facilitator of funds going to ag projects because of the stringent requirements the federal government has put on organizations receiving stimulus funds.
In this case, Wise said farm projects had to have been already through the planning and approval stage and essentially ready to go. But along with that, the government also requires proof that an organization get bids from what they describe as “disadvantaged business enterprises,” which are usually run by women or minorities; agree to pay a prevailing wage, meaning the government sets the minimum wage depending on the job; use materials manufactured in the U.S., with some exceptions; and fill out lots of paperwork dealing with legal issues.
“Districts could apply for the funding themselves. But we’re in a position to have the infrastructure to handle these funds,” Wise said, adding that the foundation pays for the projects upfront and then asks for reimbursement from PENNVEST once the projects are complete.
Brion Johnson, application project manager for PENNVEST, said the Chesapeake Bay Foundation was approved because it was able to demonstrate the water quality benefit of its projects, most notably, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that would be removed from the watershed as a result.
He said a total of $50 million in “non-point source” water projects were approved by PENNVEST.
The foundation is partnering with five county conservation districts — Adams, Bradford, Columbia, Montour, and Susquehanna — along with ag consulting firms Red Barn Consulting and TeamAg on the actual construction projects.
In order to participate, the partners had to agree to the foundation’s own set of conditions.
“What we said to the partners was ‘if we were to bring you funding, on the condition that the farmer has to do forested buffers (35 feet on either side of a stream) and on the condition they had to have a conservation plan and on the condition that they had to address any animal barnyard issues, do you think landowners would agree to those conditions?’ They all came back and said yes,” Wise said.
Larry Martick, manager of the Adams County Conservation District, said his county is providing technical assistance in relation to two projects involving dairy farms. The county received $400,000.
Jim Garner, manager of the Susquehanna County Conservation District, said two concrete barnyard projects for which the district has been providing assistance will now move forward thanks to the new money.
“We felt that this was by far the better way to go in terms of the administration of it instead of going it alone,” Garner said. “I wouldn’t even want to attempt to do this going on our own. I’ve seen a lot of government bureaucracy, but this is above and beyond the call of duty.”
Peter Hughes of Red Barn Consulting said his company will receive $4.5 million for a total of nine projects on poultry and dairy farms.
They include manure storage covers, barnyard rehabilitation projects, and a couple of manure digesters.
“I think it was kind of a power in numbers. The good thing is that the foundation sort of aggregated these projects together,” Hughes said. “None of use have ever gone for these kinds of grants before. Any time you’re talking about 100 percent cost share for farms (it) is pretty unheard of.”
Not all conservation districts, though, were thrilled about joining in. Chester and Lancaster Counties chose not to participate in the program.
Don McNutt, administrator of the Lancaster Conservation District, said because of the financial situation on dairy farms in the county, there isn’t much of a demand to fund “shovel ready” projects right now.
Chris Strohmaier, acting district manager for the Chester County Conservation District, said they had issues with the foundation’s buffer requirements because many farmers don’t have enough pasture to sacrifice to plant trees.
He also said since the Chesapeake Bay watershed covers only about 20 percent of the county, the district didn’t feel it was advantageous to go for funding through the foundation.
“We just decided to go at it independently,” Strohmaier said. “There are going to be some farmers who may have a small amount of pasture. They would never do 35 feet, but they would do something to keep cows out of the creek. So it gives us some flexibility.”
Only half of the $14.9 million has gone through final settlement. The rest is still going through the approval process.
Wise said he understands the difficulty some of the requirements put on the partners and farmers and why some would rather shy away from getting any money at all.
But he added that if the foundation would not have stepped in, the money could have gone somewhere else.
For Leroy Walker of Walk-Le Holsteins, Thomasville, Pa. the money will pay for two manure storage pits, work on the barnyard, a concrete compost pad, and a flush system for a planned expansion.
He’s had to place a sign on his driveway stating in clear letters that the money for the project came from the federal government. He has also had to take out some of his pasture and plant trees to keep the cows out of the stream that runs behind his farm.
Overall though, he feels the sacrifices are worth the reward.
“We’re looking at maybe down the road expanding the dairy. It’s going to all help with that,” Walker said. “For what we’re getting in return, it’s a well-worth cause anyhow.”
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
Putting up a couple of manure storage pits and cleaning up the barnyard was something York County dairyman Leroy Walker has wanted to do ever since he thought about expanding his 190-cow dairy for his children to take over in the future.
The tough economy and, in particular, the low dairy prices seemed to put a wrench in his plans.
But recently he’s been dealt a lucky hand, thanks to the federal stimulus package. His project, which will run around $500,000, was recently approved for full funding through a program spearheaded by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Dozens of similar projects around Pennsylvania are also receiving full funding as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), otherwise known as the federal stimulus package.
In July, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation was approved to receive $14.9 million from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) to invest in agriculture best management practice (BMP) projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
PENNVEST acts as a facilitator of stimulus funds for water quality projects in the state.
According to David Wise, the foundation’s watershed restoration manager, the organization saw itself as the perfect facilitator of funds going to ag projects because of the stringent requirements the federal government has put on organizations receiving stimulus funds.
In this case, Wise said farm projects had to have been already through the planning and approval stage and essentially ready to go. But along with that, the government also requires proof that an organization get bids from what they describe as “disadvantaged business enterprises,” which are usually run by women or minorities; agree to pay a prevailing wage, meaning the government sets the minimum wage depending on the job; use materials manufactured in the U.S., with some exceptions; and fill out lots of paperwork dealing with legal issues.
“Districts could apply for the funding themselves. But we’re in a position to have the infrastructure to handle these funds,” Wise said, adding that the foundation pays for the projects upfront and then asks for reimbursement from PENNVEST once the projects are complete.
Brion Johnson, application project manager for PENNVEST, said the Chesapeake Bay Foundation was approved because it was able to demonstrate the water quality benefit of its projects, most notably, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that would be removed from the watershed as a result.
He said a total of $50 million in “non-point source” water projects were approved by PENNVEST.
The foundation is partnering with five county conservation districts — Adams, Bradford, Columbia, Montour, and Susquehanna — along with ag consulting firms Red Barn Consulting and TeamAg on the actual construction projects.
In order to participate, the partners had to agree to the foundation’s own set of conditions.
“What we said to the partners was ‘if we were to bring you funding, on the condition that the farmer has to do forested buffers (35 feet on either side of a stream) and on the condition they had to have a conservation plan and on the condition that they had to address any animal barnyard issues, do you think landowners would agree to those conditions?’ They all came back and said yes,” Wise said.
Larry Martick, manager of the Adams County Conservation District, said his county is providing technical assistance in relation to two projects involving dairy farms. The county received $400,000.
Jim Garner, manager of the Susquehanna County Conservation District, said two concrete barnyard projects for which the district has been providing assistance will now move forward thanks to the new money.
“We felt that this was by far the better way to go in terms of the administration of it instead of going it alone,” Garner said. “I wouldn’t even want to attempt to do this going on our own. I’ve seen a lot of government bureaucracy, but this is above and beyond the call of duty.”
Peter Hughes of Red Barn Consulting said his company will receive $4.5 million for a total of nine projects on poultry and dairy farms.
They include manure storage covers, barnyard rehabilitation projects, and a couple of manure digesters.
“I think it was kind of a power in numbers. The good thing is that the foundation sort of aggregated these projects together,” Hughes said. “None of use have ever gone for these kinds of grants before. Any time you’re talking about 100 percent cost share for farms (it) is pretty unheard of.”
Not all conservation districts, though, were thrilled about joining in. Chester and Lancaster Counties chose not to participate in the program.
Don McNutt, administrator of the Lancaster Conservation District, said because of the financial situation on dairy farms in the county, there isn’t much of a demand to fund “shovel ready” projects right now.
Chris Strohmaier, acting district manager for the Chester County Conservation District, said they had issues with the foundation’s buffer requirements because many farmers don’t have enough pasture to sacrifice to plant trees.
He also said since the Chesapeake Bay watershed covers only about 20 percent of the county, the district didn’t feel it was advantageous to go for funding through the foundation.
“We just decided to go at it independently,” Strohmaier said. “There are going to be some farmers who may have a small amount of pasture. They would never do 35 feet, but they would do something to keep cows out of the creek. So it gives us some flexibility.”
Only half of the $14.9 million has gone through final settlement. The rest is still going through the approval process.
Wise said he understands the difficulty some of the requirements put on the partners and farmers and why some would rather shy away from getting any money at all.
But he added that if the foundation would not have stepped in, the money could have gone somewhere else.
For Leroy Walker of Walk-Le Holsteins, Thomasville, Pa. the money will pay for two manure storage pits, work on the barnyard, a concrete compost pad, and a flush system for a planned expansion.
He’s had to place a sign on his driveway stating in clear letters that the money for the project came from the federal government. He has also had to take out some of his pasture and plant trees to keep the cows out of the stream that runs behind his farm.
Overall though, he feels the sacrifices are worth the reward.
“We’re looking at maybe down the road expanding the dairy. It’s going to all help with that,” Walker said. “For what we’re getting in return, it’s a well-worth cause anyhow.”
