Determining Whole-farm Conservation Solutions for Small Farms in Northeastern United States

Optimal water quality pollution control comes from locating critical nonpoint source pollution areas within a watershed and applying site-specific conservation practices. However, management decisions are implemented at the farm-level. While site-specific conservation practices are crucial for environmental protection, reduction strategies must have economic benefit to the producer if they are to be implemented and maintained. Increased fuel, fertilizer, and grain prices are greatly impacting farmer profits in small (<100 ha) northeastern U.S. farms, which have historically imported sizable quantities of nutrients (feed and fertilizer) and corn grain and use proportionally high levels of fuel due to noncontiguous fields and hilly topography. Economic and environmental impacts of conservation practices suitable to the small farms of the northeastern United States were evaluated using field-level experiments, a process-based farm model, and watershed-based tools. The goal was to determine sets of practices acceptable to farmers in the region that minimized nutrient imports and treated or controlled excess nutrients while maintaining or increasing long-term farm profits. Potential practices include precision feeding, intensive forage production, crop substitution, cover crops, and manure application techniques.