Cost-Share Opportunities

Looking for ways to make your operation easier, more efficient, and more profitable with conservation? Talk to Delmarva Chicken Association first.

There are more cost-share funds available for farm conservation practices than ever, but finding out which ones fit your needs can be confusing. Delmarva Chicken Association is ready to help. You may be eligible for up to 100% cost-share on conservation initiatives - helping you get the most out of your DCA membership.

• Trees around the perimeter of farms provide a visual buffer from neighbors and roads, reduce noise, dust and odor, and provide shade.
• Large warm-season grasses near tunnel fans can act like an outdoor air filter, capturing dust and feathers and absorbing ammonia.
• Pollinator plots can be planted in the swales between houses, around retention ponds, or in open areas that normally are mowed. DCA members will have access to the help they need in caring for these plots while they are becoming established. Within three years of planting, these areas can be mowed just once a year!

Many members have already taken advantage of some of these grant funds to add trees, grasses, and pollinator plantings on their farms. Some members have stretched their dollars even farther by pairing DCA's funding with other conservation programs like NRCS EQIP or MDA MACS.

With our newest grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, members may also be able to achieve even more conservation goals. Call DCA at 302-856-9037 or email warren@dcachicken.com.

Download an Application

NFWF-Funded Cost-Share Program

Delmarva Chicken Association, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance are partnering with chicken farmers to invest $2 million in cost-share programs to accelerate the adoption of sustainable and resilient chicken farming practices in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia's Chesapeake Bay watersheds and improve riparian buffers, precision nutrient management, conservation drainage and litter management. The three-year effort is backed by a $997,327 grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation through NFWF's Chesapeake Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants Program, a partnership between NFWF and the Environmental Protection Agency. Delmarva Chicken Association, the state of Maryland, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance are contributing a combined $1 million in matching funds to the initiative, and DCA is working with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance to implement the conservation measures.

Farmers who participate in this cost-share program can be eligible for up to 100 percent cost-share on conservation initiatives. The installed practices can include:

• Trees around the perimeter of farms to provide a visual buffer from neighbors and roads, reduce noise, dust and odor, absorb soil nutrients, and provide shade.
• Large warm-season grasses near tunnel fans that can act like an outdoor air filter, capturing dust and feathers and absorbing ammonia.
• Pollinator plots that can be planted in the swales between houses, around retention ponds, or in open areas that normally are mowed, reducing flooding and capturing soil nutrients in their roots.
• Additional farm-specific conservation practices.

To apply for this cost-share program, call DCA at 302-856-9037 or email warren@dcachicken.com. You can also access an 'interest form' online here and submit it to DCA to begin the process.

DNREC-Funded Cost-Share Program

DCA has been awarded a $192,000 grant from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to operate a cost-share program funding installation of two kinds of vegetative environmental buffers on Delaware broiler farms: hedgerows of warm-season grasses near tunnel fans and sidewall fans, and pollinator-friendly plantings. DCA is providing a $203,000 match over the three-year course of the grant. This cost-share program is now available to eligible DCA members that covers 90 percent of the costs of technical assistance, installation, and reporting for these types of buffers. The grower's cost to take advantage of the cost-share program will be the remaining 10 percent.

Because of Delaware's and the EPA's water-quality priorities, eligibility for the cost-share programs is limited to farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Delaware Inland Bays, and certain areas of the St. Jones River and Broadkill River watersheds of the Delaware Bay. To qualify, an applicant must be in good standing as a DCA member, at the $150 level or higher, prior to DCA staff providing on-farm technical assistance for these best management practices (BMPs).

The cost-share program is open for applicants. To apply, growers will fill out this application form. DCA staff will complete a planting design showing BMP location and estimated plant quantities and materials, and we will also assist the applicants in locating contractors to provide estimates on BMP installation.

Growers must submit invoices to DCA staff for installed BMPs on a timely manner to initiate the final inspection on completion as well as to start the payment process. Growers will be obligated to maintain the installed BMPs for their intended purpose of treating a documented resource concern for a period of 10 years. If the installed BMPs are destroyed in any manner, they will be reinstalled at the owner's expense. DCA staff will perform annual and semi-annual inspections to verify the conditions of the BMPs during the first five years.

Repayment of cost-share funds to DCA will be required if any of the following occur:

• Farm was sold within the 10-year period and the new owner will not use the houses for poultry production
• The new owner will not agree in writing to maintain the installed BMPs for the remainder of the 10-year period
• The BMPs are destroyed in some manner by the current owner or farm help and not re-established properly, within a specified timeframe

If you have questions about the cost-share program, contact us at 302-856-9037 or warren@dcachicken.com.

Conservation Practices Installation Request for Interest/Qualifications

DCA is seeking qualified nursery and landscape professionals to implement conservation practices that prioritize regionally native tree, woody shrub, grass, and pollinator plantings as well as agricultural conservation best management practices that improve soil and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region. Interested businesses should be familiar with Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) program standards and practices. Nursery & landscape professionals licensed to conduct business on the Delmarva are encouraged to reply to this RFI/Q.