When it comes time to handing out conservation awards, the Maryland farmer should be at the front of the line.

Farmers dug deep into their own pockets and paid out more than $1.4 million to adopt a record number of on-farm conservation practices last year to protect soil and water from erosion and excess nutrients.

According to a report by the state Department of Agriculture, farmers installed more than 2,100 conservation projects last year.

The state picked up most of the tab by providing $13.1 million in cost-share funding from the Maryland Agricultural Water-Quality Cost-Share program. But farmers will need to pay for any continuing maintenance costs for years to come.

State Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson said the farmers' actions last year will prevent an estimated 2.7 million pounds of nitrogen and 149,000 pounds of phosphorus from entering Maryland waterways.

In a message to members of the General Assembly, Richardson said, "We look forward to building on the program's successes in 2008 with additional funding for this environmental protection and farm sustainability program."

With help from the state program, farmers adopted a number of conservation practices, including:

The planting of a record 240,410 acres of cover crops statewide. This was nearly double the amount of cover crops planted in 2006.

A cover crop, such as rye, is planted in the fall after farmers harvest their corn and soybean acreage. The rye grows through the winter and absorbs excess nitrogen from the fertilizer and manure used during the summer growing season.

Cover crops are widely recognized as the most cost-effective and environmentally promising way to reduce agricultural runoff into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Last year, farmers, including those growing chickens on the Eastern Shore, transported a record 99,300 tons of excess manure off farms with high soil phosphorus levels to other farms or facilities that could use the resource in an environmentally safe manner.

Sixty animal waste storage structures were built. They will prevent harmful runoff from fields by conserving the nutrient benefits of manure until it can be safely transported or applied to crops for use as a fertilizer.

Last year, the state program expanded its cost-sharing program to include other conservation practices to help farmers manage natural resources more efficiently.

This included sharing the cost of concrete pads construction. The pads, built outside poultry houses, help protect groundwater from nutrient runoff when farmers clean out the chicken houses.

The program now helps cover the cost of constructing water control structures and drainage ditches to prevent soil erosion and reduce the movement of nutrients in the soil.

Another change in the program that could benefit the bay while reducing our dependence on imported oil allows farmers to plant a hulless barley. The hulless barley can be used as a cover crop during the winter months, then harvested in the spring for use as raw material for a proposed ethanol production plant in the state.

Established in 1984, the Maryland Agricultural Water-Quality Cost Share program provides farmers with grants to cover up to 87.5 percent of the cost of installing equipment to prevent soil erosion, manage nutrients and safeguard water quality.

Since 1985, farmers have spent more than $11 million of their own money to match about $90 million in state cost-share funds to install more than 31,000 best-management practices to protect water quality.

Those practices have resulted in a significant achievement of Maryland's 2005 tributary strategy goals for agriculture, according to the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program.

Since 1985, Maryland agriculture has achieved a 54 percent nitrogen reduction, 70 percent phosphorus reduction and 54 percent sediment reduction toward the tributary strategy goal.

Grower certification

The state Department of Agriculture is encouraging fruit and vegetable growers and handlers to participate in two federal programs to safeguard food processing.

In order to become certified in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's good agricultural practices and good handling practices programs, farms must complete a successful audit of their operations.

The audit provides national recognition for producers and handlers to the many buyers now requiring audits for compliance with the federal guidelines.

"The increase in demand for certification follows recent high-profile food safety issues across the country and the world," said agriculture secretary Richardson.

"The certification gives buyers a certain level of confidence in the fruits and vegetables they are purchasing and is a good marketing tool for producers and handlers of agricultural products," he added.

For additional information on the federal certification programs, contact Deanna Baldwin at 410-841-5769 or baldwidl@mda.state.md.us.