Water and Drought
Assistance Improves Water Quality
Poultry farmers within the Upper Middle Chattahoochee Watershed had not been able to acquire cost share assistance through federal programs to install best management practices on their farms to improve water quality. UGA Cooperative Extension, collaborating with several local, state and federal agencies and groups, came together to write a grant with the mission to provide cost share assistance to poultry farmers located within the target watershed, in turn, improving water quality within that area. A four-year 319(h) grant received funding, and the Upper Middle Chattahoochee Watershed Poultry Waste Management Program was established with the tentative goal of assisting 20 farmers install dry litter stackhouses and compost sheds. Twenty-five farmers signed up to participate in this project; 14 of those farmers to date have received 60 percent cost share funding to install best management practices and nutrient management plans. Four out of the five educational workshops required by the grant have been conducted. Farm*A*Syst Assessments have been conducted on each farm receiving assistance to identify any potential problem area on the property. An Alternative Litter Management Committee has been formed and charged with the mission to choose one alternative litter management method and perform a feasibility study on that method. An Alternative Litter Management Resource Guide is being published and 1,000 copies will be dispersed to all poultry farmers within the watershed and other interested parties. A database of poultry growers within the region is also being put together through this project. At the conclusion of this project, more than $470,000 in BMP's will be applied to protect water quality. (2006)
Source
| Name | Department | |
| William Hodge | bhodge@uga.edu | Carroll County Extension agent |