In late August on this website and in October's issue, American Agriculturist reported that Pennsylvania Association of Soil Conservation Districts was readying a online survey to give farmers credit for the soil and water conservation efforts. See Who should wear ag's tin star and police Chesapeake Bay cleanup .

That survey, focusing on manure management practices, is now online and ready for you to use. And, previously raised questions regarding sponsorship and confidentiality have been addressed.

VERIFY YOUR GOOD PRACTICES: Submitting best management practice info now working on Pennsylvania farm will help close the information gap necessary for the Chesapeake Bay model.

Pennsylvania's farmers deserve credit for the work they do to ensure clean water and healthy soil, affirms Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh. To give that proper credit, PACD is asking farmers to voluntarily complete the survey.
Click on the online Manure Management Self-reporting survey at pacd.org/selfreport . It asks questions about your manure management and conservation plans and practices.

Then what?
Submitted data will be used to enter into the Chesapeake Bay model. The goal is to ensure that the work farmers have already done is being counted toward pollution reduction goals.

Some 10% of the respondents, chosen at random, will have data verified by their local conservation district, explains Shambaugh. "While contact information will be collected, PACD will only use that information for verification of the submitted information," she adds. "Farmer privacy is very important to us and any identifying information will not be shared other than for this purpose."
Partners supporting this project include: Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania Farmers Union, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Pennsylvania State Grange, PennAg Industries Association, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Again, to complete the survey, click on pacd.org/selfreport. The survey should take 10 to15 minutes. For more information about the work of the state's 66 conservation districts, visit pacd.org/CD.