Crop Management Associations

We All Live Downstream

Any farmer can grow crops, but the successful one grows them efficiently, for a profit. As with every business, turning a profit on a farm means making the right management decisions -- and making them consistently right every year. This requires getting the proper information at the proper time, and then correctly interpreting it. Crop management associations (CMAs) help farmers do this.

CMAs are local, nonprofit organizations run by member farmers. By helping members use such crop-production inputs as fertilizer and pesticides efficiently, CMAs work to increase farm profits. And by managing production inputs carefully, farmers can reduce harmful effects on the environment that sometimes result from poorly managed agricultural operations. For example, proper management of the nutrients in fertilizer and manure protects the quality of farm water supplies, as well as downstream waters such as the Chesapeake Bay.

Efficient crop production requires managing the many variables that go into growing a crop. This takes time and effort. For CMA members, much of this work is done by the association's employees: technicians who have a background in agronomy, stay up-to-date on crop management practices, and work with county extension agents who have close links to agricultural research at Penn State. Farmers pay an initial membership fee plus annual acreage fees for the CMA's services. An elected board of volunteer directors, which also handles the business affairs, sets the range of services provided by a particular association.

Some of the services CMAs offer include:

• assistance with crop production planning (variety and hybrid selection, planting dates, nutrient requirements)
• identifying crop pests (weeds, insects, diseases)
• recommending pest-control practices based on field scouting
• collecting forage, manure, soil, and plant-tissue samples for nutrient testing and interpreting test results
• determining plant populations and measuring crop yields
• helping to establish and maintain production records
• producing summary crop reports

Membership in a crop management association makes farmers better equipped to produce crops more profitably because members get the information they need to make sound management decisions. Crop management technicians gather and help interpret information about members' field and crop conditions. For example, technicians monitor crops for destructive insects and offer advice on control measures. Instead of routinely applying pesticides, CMA members can cut back on applications by spraying only when insect populations justify it. This saves money and protects the environment. As a result of insect monitoring information alone, one CMA member reduced chemical, equipment and labor costs by 75 percent.

Nutrient management is another area where CMAs can provide assistance. As a first step, CMA technicians collect soil and manure samples for analysis. After determining crop nutrient needs, soil fertility levels, and available nutrients in farm manure, technicians advise members on the application of manure and commercial fertilizer. The goal is to meet a crop's nutrient needs without applying excess nutrients that decrease farm profits and degrade water quality.

Currently, approximately 250 farmers with 41,000 acres belong to the seven CMAs located throughout Pennsylvania. These associations served 24 counties -- 22 of them in Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay basin. In addition to helping members farm more efficiently, these CMAs are helping to improve water quality locally and in the Chesapeake Bay.

To join a CMA, contact the county extension office for the name of the technician who serves your local association. The technician can give you further information and send you a membership application. If there isn't a CMA in your area, let your county agent know that you would support one. If there's sufficient interest, the agent can help area farmers start their own CMA.

You could probably do all the things a crop management association does -- if you had the time. But time is scarce. So let a crop management association assist you with the important (but time consuming) tasks of collecting, recording, and effectively using the many pieces of crop production information you need to farm profitably.

Approximately 250 farmers are served by Pennsylvania's Crop Management Associations. These associations are helping to improve water quality locally in the Chesapeake Bay.

For more information contact the:

Pennsylvania Crop Management Association
Department of Agronomy
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
(814) 863-1020

Produced by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. with financial support provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Chesapeake Bay Program and the Environmental Protection Agency Section 319 Program.