A grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Program, will help Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. build and market an online and app-based chicken litter matching tool, connecting farmers who need litter to grow crops with chicken growers who have litter to sell.

By improving crop growth and soil health, the effort will support the implementation of Maryland’s Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) and Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plans, thereby helping to meet regional water quality and healthy watershed goals.

The $49,890 NFWF grant is part of the 2020 round of funding for Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund projects. Fifty-six restoration and water quality improvement grants totaling $18.06 million were awarded, leveraging $18.9 million in match from the grantees to generate a total conservation impact of $36.97 million. DPI and supporting partners are providing $10,018 in matching funds.

“Throughout discussions around the PMT and litter transport, we’ve heard time and again of growers who have manure to sell and grain farmers trying to find manure to buy,” says Holly Porter, DPI’s executive director. “We want to connect those dots. State manure transport programs help to close the gap, but we recognized the need for other tools to help chicken growers and crop farmers connect to give them access to the organic, locally produced nutrients that chicken litter supplies.

"This is one of the ways the chicken community is coming together to find solutions for manure transport and management challenges.”

For more information, contact Holly Porter at 302-856-9037 or visit dpichicken.org.

Source: Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc., which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.