Runoff from agriculture has impaired 258 miles of stream in the Schuylkill River Watershed, mostly throughout the Berks County Region. The Schuylkill Action Network's Agriculture Workgroup has applied a computer model using a set of priority criteria to evaluate where — out of the 800 farm parcels located on impaired streams — to focus restoration efforts in the watershed. Based upon these results, key members of the workgroup are reaching out to farmers to do conservation planning for their farms, and to install measures (like the fencing shown in the photograph) that will help prevent agricultural runoff from polluting streams.

Through the Schuylkill Watershed Initiative Grant, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is providing funds for two critical components of this effort:

• Conservation Planning for Priority Farms by the Berks County Conservation District
This effort includes drafting approximately 15 conservation plans at cooperating farms throughout the watershed. Conservation plans identify farm-specific strategies for proper manure management, optimized use of fertilizer, and prevention of farm erosion and runoff into streams. They also allow the farm to become eligible for federal funding, allowing it to implement the tenets outlined in the plan.

Status: Thanks to funding provided by Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener program, which covered the cost of conservation plans, most of the funds will be directed toward supplemental nutrient planning and additional best management practice (BMP) implementation. So far, conservation plans (and nutrient management plans where needed) have been completed for each of the nine farms where BMPs have been installed, as described below.

• Implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on priority farms by the Berks County Conservancy

Conservancy staff are working together with the Berks County Conservation District and the Berks County Agricultural Extension Office to