LEHIGH COUNTY

Lehigh County Conservation District in partnership with the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, the Centers for Dairy and Beef Excellence, PA Agricultural Ombudsman Program and Penn State University will hold a two-day agricultural erosion and sediment and online mapping workshop.

This workshop will be held 5:30-8 p.m. Dec. 5 and 12 at Lehigh County Agricultural Center, 4184 Dorney Park Road, South Whitehall.

The workshop will cover sessions about why erosion and sediment regulations have been established and what kind of plan is required for each operation.

In addition, representatives from Penn State University’s Land Analysis Lab will be able to walk attendees through the PA One Stop website, where attendees will create farm maps and an agricultural erosion and sediment plan for their farm.

Upon completion of the workshop, participants will have a written agricultural erosion and sediment plan that is compliant with PA state regulations.

Laptops are provided for use during the workshops.

Any farmer that plows or tills 5,000 or more square feet is required to have an agricultural erosion and sedimentation control plan under Pennsylvania environmental regulations.

In addition, those same regulations require some livestock farmers to also have an agricultural erosion and sedimentation plan.

The maps that are created will allow farmers to identify environmentally sensitive areas and can be used as part of a manure management plan.

Space is limited to 20 participants, so register early.

Dinner is included for participants.

While a deposit is required to reserve your seat, it will be refunded upon successful completion of both sessions.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information about PACD, visit www.pacd.org.

To register for the workshop, contact Damian Painter at dpainter@lehighconservation.org.