Capital Resource Conservation and Development Area Council

Employees and programs of Capital rc&d helped farmers and landowners adopt a wide array of environmental stewardship practices to improve water and soil quality. During 2022 we supported farmer-to-farmer and technical expert-led assistance and education including filling 25 technical assistance positions that impacted landowners in Pennsylvania. In addition, we sponsored two pasture walks and developed five podcasts. Capital rc&d grazing advisors had 50 visits to consult with farmers to support their grazing practices and assisted with two pasture walks and four field technician trainings. With project funding, Capital rc&d was also able to support the planning and implementation of 26 rotational grazing projects that supported the transition of 588 acres to managed rotational grazing systems.

These program activities included fiscal sponsorship of fledgling organizations and support for related organizations in our region and a state-wide organization with a related mission. Among the activities, the organization provides administrative support for the state-wide, Pennsylvania grazing lands coalition. In addition, the organization works with Conservation partners in our region to support collaboration under several initiatives including the south mountain partnership, the cumberland county food systems alliance and the cumberland Conservation collaborative.

The organization with the support of the county Conservation districts surveyed the use of two important agricultural best practices - cover cropping and Conservation tillage. We did this by conducting transect surveys of thirty-two counties in the chesapeake bay watershed of Pennsylvania. The data collected helps Pennsylvania farmers get credit for their Conservation efforts and informs agricultural agencies about the status of these practices.