News & Notes July 2007

Look What's New!

Nutrient Trading Webpage
The PACD website has a new nutrient trading webpage. The new webpage provides background information regarding nutrient trading, PACD opportunities for conservation districts currently participating in Revolving Fund or Strawman Nutrient Trading Activities, a nitrogen calculation spreadsheet and links to DEP and WRI's nutrient trading pages. You can find our new webpage at the following location: www.pacd.org/products/nutrient_trading.htm.

New Nonpoint Source Pollution Exhibit
PACD recently received a new Nonpoint Source Pollution exhibit titled Team Up to Tackle Nonpoint Source Pollution. This sports-themed exhibit explains the causes of Nonpoint Source pollution(offense) and ways we can work as a team to reduce NPS pollution (defense). If you want to reserve the exhibit for an upcoming event, please fill out an order request form available at www.pacd.org/resources/info_request.htm.

USDA Releases Tillage Practices

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Pennsylvania Field Office completed its first ever survey of tillage practices for field crops in the Commonwealth. The tillage survey was funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. It was conducted in conjunction with NASS's annual June Agricultural Survey. In order to address the problem of highly erodible soil and soil compaction many farmers have turned to no-till and minimum till practices. Previously there were no survey based estimates of how many acres had been converted from conventional tillage practices to alternative methods. Over the past few years several industry groups, including the No-Till Alliance, Conservation Districts, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have requested that NASS's Pennsylvania Field Office provide information on the tillage practices used in Pennsylvania.

In 2007, conventional tillage was used on 29.2% of the major crop acreage in Pennsylvania. No-till was practiced on 50.4% of the major crop acreage, and other conservation tillage practices were used on the remaining 20.4%. Corn and soybeans are the two crops with the highest acreages. Conventional till was used on 29.0% of the corn acreage, no-till was practiced on 49.7% of the acreage, and the remaining 21.4% of the corn acreage used other conservation tillage practices. As with most of NASS's survey work these numbers will be subject to revision in June 2008.

1 No-Till - A procedure whereby a crop is planted directly into a seedbed not tilled since harvest of a previous crop, or the planting of a crop into sod, previous crop stubble, or a cover where only the intermediate seed zone is disturbed. 2 Other Conservation Tillage - Tillage practices prior to planting which result in a minimum of 30 percent ground cover or residue being retained on the surface following planting. Grass and weed control is accomplished primarily with herbicides. Includes ridge till, strip till, and mulch till. 3 Convention Till - Systems where 100 percent of the surface is mixed or inverted by plowing, power tilling, or multiple disking. 4 Sum of no-till, other conservation tillage and conventional till percents of total may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. 5 Wheat seeded the previous fall for all intended purposes including grain, cover, silage, hay or any other utilization. 6 Total excludes Alfalfa Seedings. 7 New alfalfa seeded or to be seeded during 2007. 8 Alfalfa seeded acres will be available in January 2008.

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