[District Letterhead]
NEWS RELEASEContact: [Name]
For Immediate Release [Phone Number]
[Date] [Email Address]
Proper Nutrient Management is Good Farm Management
(Your City, VA) – With Nitrogen costs fluctuating and likely to rise again in tandem with petroleum prices, nutrient management is fast becoming an essential part of running a profitable agricultural operation.
“Timing the application of nutrients to provide them when crops need them most, basing nutrient applications on soil test data, and delivering nutrients closer to plant roots are just three of the nutrient management practices that allow farmers to make smart use of costly fertilizer,” said [Name, Title] of [Name] Soil and Water Conservation District.
Nutrient management practices can be implemented on any crop or pasture lands, including anywhere corn and small grains are grown. Theyimprove water quality by decreasing the amount of nutrients from fertilizer or manure that enter local streams.
While the environment benefits, so can farm production. In addition to reducing fertilizer usage and costs, nutrient management can improve soil quality, as well as increase crop yield and quality. Funding from the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program is available to offset the costs of writing and implementing nutrient management plans and their associated practices, as are Virginia tax credits.
Farmers who want to accelerate the production benefits of nutrient management can plant year-round cover crops and implement continuous no-till cultivation systems. Incentive payments for these best management practices, which increase soil biomass, also are available through the Virginia Cost-Share Program.
“Proper nutrient management is simply part of good farm management,” [Last Name] added, “and cost-share can get you started.”
Nutrient management is one of five sets of priority agricultural best management practices promoted by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which administers the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program. The Commonwealth’s 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts carry out the Virginia Cost-Share Program on the local level.
District staff can help farmers apply for many different cost-share funding programs to help implement nutrient management best management practices. They also can identify other conservation programs for which agricultural operations of all kinds can qualify.
For more information, contact [First Name, Last Name] at [Name] Soil and Water Conservation District, [phone number] or [email address].
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