Agricultural Erosion and Sediment Control Planning

What does the plan do?

An Ag E&S plan determines the potential for erosion on your fields based on your farming practices. Developing an Ag E&S plan involves completing soil loss calculations to determine how much erosion is being caused by your farming or grazing methods and then comparing this rate of erosion to the soil type’s natural rate of erosion.  If your current, or proposed, farming activities cause erosion at a rate higher than the soil’s natural tolerance (known as T), it’s necessary for you to develop a less-intensive management strategy for that field. If the erosion rate is lower than the field’s tolerance, the rotation is deemed acceptable. Some soils in the county are more susceptible to erosion than others. The steepness of a field affects its predisposition to erosion as well. Certain agricultural activities carry a higher risk for soil erosion than others: tillage, a rotation heavy on annual crops and the removal of crop residue will all increase the risk of soil erosion on a field. Conversely, fields managed with reduced or no tillage, cover crops and heavy crop residues, and a rotation that intersperses perennial crops will have lower susceptibility to erosion.

Why are Ag E&S plans important?

Having a plan in place helps ensure that valuable soil and nutrients are kept on your farm – rather than runoff into nearby waters. The processes used by farmers to produce the food and fiber needed by our nation involve disturbing the earth to varying degrees depending on the type of tillage, planting techniques, and cultivation. The implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) are especially important to farmers since their use protects their soil resource and keeps waters clean.

The goal of agricultural conservation planning is to identify and address natural resource concerns on agricultural land. These concerns include gully erosion, excess nutrients, and sediment runoff. Addressing resource concerns around your property benefits both your soil’s health and productivity, as well as the water quality of local streams, creeks, and rivers.

Click to Watch – On the Field & In the Barnyard (Ag Erosion & Sediment Control)

It is the law!

According to the PA Clean Streams Law Chapter 102 revised in 2011, written Agricultural Erosion & Sediment Control Plans (Ag E&S) are required for the following activities that disturb 5,000 square feet or more of land:

• All agricultural plowing and tilling activities (including no-till).

• Animal Heavy Use Areas (AHUA) – According to PA Chapter 102.1, an AHUA is a “Barnyard, feedlot, loafing area, exercise lot, or other similar area on an agricultural operation where due to the concentration of animals it is not possible to establish and maintain vegetative cover of a density capable of minimizing accelerated erosion and sedimentation by usual planting methods.”

The Ag E&S plan should be available at the farm at all times to guide the persons responsible for overall farm operations and if requested during an inspection.

What are the Ag E&S Plan Requirements?

• The plan must show calculations for the Tolerable Soil Loss “T” over the entire crop rotation for that particular soil type.
• Near Stream Areas: Areas within 100′ of a river, or perennial or intermittent stream, need to maintain 25% cover at all times (or implement a BMP such as a permanent 35 Foot vegetative buffer).
• Animal Heavy Use Areas (AHUA): The plan must identify BMP’s to minimize accelerated erosion, nutrient runoff and sedimentation. AHUA include: barnyards, exercise lots, manure handling areas, sacrifice areas, feed areas, shade areas, etc.
• Plan Maps that show the location of water, drainage patterns (topography), field and property boundaries, buildings, AHUA, roads, and BMP’s. (Maps can be developed using the PA One Stop website
• A soils map of the operation.
• A narrative of BMP’s including AHUA practices and procedures, tillage systems and crop rotations.
• An implementation schedule for planned BMPs.

Isn't this in my Conservation Plan?

Ag E&S plans are not as complex as the Conservation Plans which are required for participating in federal programs. The RUSLE 2 calculation is a part of the development of a Conservation Plan, and so a Conservation Plan fulfills most of the requirements of an Ag E&S plan. However, many farmers’ existing Conservation Plans are outdated or do not cover newly acquired fields or livestock exercise lots.

When should I revise my Ag E&S plan or Conservation Plan?

You are required to revise your Ag E&S plan if you have:

• Added land to the operation.
• Changed your tillage methods by conducting a higher frequency of tillage events or switched to a more aggressive method of tillage (e.g. going from chisel to mold board).
• Changed the frequency of perennial crops in your rotation: such as fewer consecutive years of hay in a rotation.
• Changed the frequency of annual crops in your rotation: such as increasing the years of grain corn in a rotation or adding a year of soybeans to an existing rotation
• Merged fields in a way that increases the length of a field along a slope
• Reduced the frequency of cover crops or other overwintering crops in your rotation
• Create an Animal Concentration Area (ACA) not referenced in the current plan

How do I complete the plan?

Landowners and operators can hire someone to write this plan for them, or they can take control of the planning process by using the free, online mapping and modeling platform PAOneStop.   This free online program allows anyone to develop a plan for their current field activities, as well as to predict the effect of a change in field boundaries or cropping practice– before the change is made.  To assist in this effort, DEP has developed a Fillable Template for Writing Ag E&S Plans as well a Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Manual for Agricultural Operation. 

Call or visit the Conservation District for more detailed criteria for developing a plan, to receive a plan workbook (coming soon!), or to discuss options for assistance in writing a plan. The District maintains a list of certified plan writers and, for those folks who decide to hire a private consultant to write their plans, the District continues to fund its plan cost reimbursement program to help farms pay for the cost of having farm plans (manure management or agricultural E&S) developed by private planners.  We can reimburse 75% of the cost of the plan, up to $250 per plan. The cost reimbursement form can be submitted once an invoice has been received by the planner. Please call the Conservation District if you need more information.