State of Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation And Lake Champlain Basin Program

Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program Final Report

Organization Name: University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, Extension Division Project Name: Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program Award Number: 2011-CCC-ACAP Start/End Date: 2/20/2011 - 6/30/2014

Contact Information:

Jeffrey Carter, University of Vermont Extension Agronomist 23 Pond Lane, Suite 300, Middlebury, VT 05753 Phone: (802) 388-4969 x 332 e-mail: [email protected]

Heather Darby, University of Vermont Extension Agronomist 278 South Main Street, Suite 2, St. Albans, Vermont 05478 Phone: (802) 524-6501 x 437 e-mail: [email protected]

Executive Summary:

Phosphorus and soil that moves off site from agricultural lands in Vermont has been identified as a major cause for degraded water quality in the Lake Champlain. UVM Extension Faculty Agronomists Jeff Carter and Dr. Heather Darby conducted an outreach education and technical assistance program from 2011 to 2014 to work directly with farmers in the Lake Champlain watershed in Vermont to implement farm practices that reduce soil and nutrient losses to surface water. The Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) was funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission through the efforts of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and awarded through the Lake Champlain Basin Program, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to support this project.

Two UVM Agronomy Outreach Professionals were hired by UVM Extension in 2011 to collaborate with livestock and cash crop farmers in the Lake Champlain watershed in Vermont to provide technical assistance to address identified resource concerns on their farms. As a direct result of outreach and technical assistance provided by the UVM agronomists and support staff, a total of 461 conservation practices were implemented on 260 farms in the watershed, reducing soil and nutrient runoff from 58,608 acres of cropland and associated livestock production facilities. Implementation of conservation practices included 20,897 acres of nutrient management plan development on 47 farms, 8,109 acres of alternative manure management on 28 farms, 13,559 acres of reduced tillage and no-till planting on 164 farms, 12,360 acres of cover crops on 125 farms, 15 livestock exclusion projects and 68 other production facility Best Management Practices installed during the three-year project.

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A whole farm inventory was completed for Sixty (60) core participant farms using a Farm Practice Checklist to identify specific practices that needed improvement to focus on for each farm. A Farm Practice Inventory worksheet was developed for the project to track improvements made on the farm-specific identified conservation practices and to quantify the degree of improvements made using pre- and post- implementation scores. The core farms improved or implemented an average of 3.2 practices per farm raising their overall beginning score of 4.3 for those practices to a final improved score of 1.7, based on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 represents poor management and 1 represents excellent management.

Lake Champlain and the local farming community will be a better place because of the technical assistance provided by this project. Continued support for a University based agronomy outreach team that provides a blend of outreach, education, field demonstrations, and technical assistance for local farmers is critical to continued efforts within the agricultural community to reduce phosphorus loading into Lake Champlain and other surface waters in Vermont.

Project Introduction:

The Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) was initiated to provide an increased level of direct one-on-one technical assistance for livestock and crop farmers in the Lake Champlain Basin to help them plan and implement farm practices that would reduce losses of soil and nutrients into surface water. The desired goal was to improve water quality in Lake Champlain and tributaries through permanent adoption of new farm management practices that would enhance water quality and also improve their farm business economic sustainability.

Phosphorus that runs off from agricultural lands in Vermont has been identified as a primary source of concern for degraded water quality in the Lake Champlain as reported by Lake Champlain Basin Program in their series of published reports State of the Lake and Opportunities for Action. Protecting and improving the water quality of Lake Champlain will be enhanced as loading of sediment and agricultural nutrients into streams and rivers is reduced by management practices that retain soil and phosphorus on agricultural lands. This project was designed to target specific farm practices that would reduce direct runoff from livestock production facilities, protect stream banks and riparian areas, reduce soil and nutrient loss from farm fields, improve crop yields and build healthier soils that could absorb excessive rainfall events to reduce overland flow of water. Changes in farm business management are perceived as very risky so this project increased the availability of direct one-on-one outreach and technical assistance to increase the chance of successful long-term adoption of new conservation practices by farmers in the watershed.

Funding from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission was secured in 2010 through the efforts of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and awarded to UVM through the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC) to support this program for three years. In 2011, two UVM Agronomy Outreach Professionals (agronomists) were hired by University of Vermont Extension to work with farmers in the Northern and Central portions of the Lake Champlain watershed. This was part of a larger ACAP project with a third agronomist

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hired by the Poultney-Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District (PMNRCD) to work in the South Lake portion of the watershed. The UVM agronomists collaborated with the PMNRCD agronomist and also with three other agronomists within the watershed who were providing similar technical assistance as part of the Lake Champlain Strategic Watershed Action Team (SWAT) which was funded by Vermont USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The number of farms and amounts of conservation practice implementation in this report summarize the impact of the farm assistance provided by the UVM agronomists, faculty and staff during this three year project. Beyond the base ACAP funding for the two agronomist positions, outreach efforts were supplemented by several grants awarded to UVM Extension that provided additional funds for farm project implementation, outreach education, field demonstrations and field technician staff support. The UVM agronomists worked collaboratively with state and federal agencies and other conservation partners to enhance their outreach efforts and provide farmers with a gateway for accessing additional financial and technical assistance to help them implement new farm practices. Most notably, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Lake Champlain Basin Program supported the efforts of the agronomists with direct funding for farm practice implementation and supplemental grants for outreach projects.

Project Staff and Role:

Middlebury, VT Jeffrey Carter PI, Project Manager, UVM Quality Assurance Manager Rico Balzano Agronomist Dan Infurna Field Technician Donna Brown Administrative Assistant

St. Albans, VT Heather Darby Program Manager Brian Trudell Agronomist (1 year) Jeff Sanders Agronomist (2 years) Amanda Gervais Field Technician

Tasks Completed:

Task 1. Identify two staff agronomists.

UVM Extension received ACAP funds to hire and dedicate two agronomists to provide technical assistance with agronomy and conservation practices to participating farmers. Brian Trudell and Rico Balzano were hired as UVM Extension Agronomy Outreach Professionals in 2011 to work with a minimum of 30 core farms each in the north and central portions of the Lake Champlain watershed. The two agronomists worked under the supervision of University of Vermont Extension Faculty Agronomists, Jeff Carter in Middlebury and Dr. Heather Darby in St. Albans.

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The position in St Albans (Trudell) was vacated after one year and Jeff Sanders was hired in spring of 2012 to fulfill the grant objectives for the remainder of the project. Additional duties for the St Albans position were added at that time to provide program leadership for training programs for nutrient management mobile technology, no-till and precision feed management. Several additional grant projects were initiated during the timeline of this project to assist the agronomists with expanding their outreach and project implementation on participant farms.

Task 2. Identify farm participants.

The agronomists enrolled 60 farm participants (core farms) to help identify high priority conservation practices for their farms and then assist them with practice planning and implementation to reduce soil and nutrient runoff from fields and livestock production areas. These farms were evaluated using a Whole Farm Inventory to identify specific practices to focus on that needed improvement. A Farm Practice Checklist was used to track improvements made on the identified farm-specific conservation practices and to quantify the degree of improvements made using a series of pre- and post- implementation scores.

During the course of the project, the UVM Extension agronomists provided technical assistance to an additional 200 farms who requested assistance in planning and implementing conservation practices on farm land in the Lake Champlain watershed. The location of all 260 farmers assisted by the UVM agronomists, including the 60 core farm participants, is shown in Figure 1. The geographic distribution of farms that were assisted was not uniformly disbursed throughout the watershed as originally planned. The location of farms assisted was influenced by external factors including the severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene in the southern end of the watershed in 2011, the location of smaller sized farms within the central and southern portions of the watershed and by the concurrent work of similar technical assistance services provided by the SWAT agronomists in the central and eastern portion of the watershed. The primary focus for the agronomist in St Albans was within the Missisquoi River watershed, St Albans bay and Lake Champlain direct in the north lake area that had been identified as high priority for phosphorus loading into Lake Champlain. The focus for the agronomist in the Middlebury office was primarily within the Otter Creek River watershed and Lake Champlain direct. The geographic focus of the UVM agronomist in Middlebury overlapped with the PMNRCD agronomist to address the higher concentration of farms not subject to permitting under the state medium- or large-farm operation programs in the south end of the watershed that also had been identified as a high priority area for phosphorus loading into Lake Champlain.

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Figure 1. Location of farms in Lake Champlain watershed in Vermont assisted by UVM, 2011-2014.

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Task 3. Complete ACAP Farm Practice Checklist.

Conservation practices on the sixty core farms were evaluated using the Farm Practice Checklist to complete a whole farm inventory for each farm to identify which specific conservation practices on each farm needed improvement. The identified conservation practices were scored using a Farm Practice Inventory worksheet to document a pre- and post-evaluation numeric scoring of water quality improvements attained as a result conservation practice implementation (Appendix A). The list of potential farm practices to be evaluated included nutrient management, manure storage, manure handling, soil aeration manure injection, conservation tillage, cover crops, farmstead clean water separation, barnyard areas, milking center waste, feed management, silage leachate, livestock mortality, sensitive area seeding, grass waterways, field buffers, pasture and cattle exclusion from streams. The inventory sheet scoring system was based on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 represents poor management and 1 represents excellent management for each identified practice. As farms improved a resource concern condition or implemented a new practice the improved scores were reflected in a lowering of the score value. The following (figure 2.) is an example of the completed inventory sheet for a farm.

Figure2. Sample of a farm practice inventory sheet for pre- and post- implementation scoring.

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Task 4. Use Farm Practice Checklist before and after implementation to show improvements.

Conservation practices used on the 60 core participant farms were scored at the beginning of the project and again at the end of the project, using the change in numeric scores to document the improvements achieved. The 60 core farms in the project improved or implemented an average of 3.2 practices per farm, raising their overall average beginning score of 4.3 for all the identified conservation practices of concern to a final improved score of 1.7. Table 1 shows the number of core farms and related acres that were scored using the farm practice inventory scoring system based on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents excellent management and 5 represents poor management. All core farms were evaluated for all conservation practices, but only the practices that were identified as a concern on that farm were scored to measure improvement.

Table 1. Summary of practices, number of farms and acres affected, and average evaluation scores recorded before and after technical assistance provided by UVM agronomists to 60 core farms. Practice Evaluated Number Acres Score Before Score After NMP - Nutrient Management 25 15,878 3.0 1.3 MAN - Manure Management 22 6,291 4.7 2.0 CT - Conservation Tillage 34 5,925 4.3 1.9 NT - No-Till Planting 33 2,848 4.3 1.6 CC - Cover Crops 38 5,922 4.8 2.5 OFS - Other Farmstead Practices 13 525 4.6 1.3 OFI - Other Field Practices 18 653 4.5 1.5 Total all Evaluated Practices 183 38,042* 4.32 1.81 * This total acres includes all acres affected and may include more than one practice for an individual field.

ACAP Farm Practice Inventory Pre- and post-evaluation scores 60 Core Farms (2011 - 2014) 5

4

3

Evaluation Score Evaluation 2 1=excellent 5=poor to 1=excellent

1 NMP MAN CT NT CC OFS OFI Before 3.0 4.7 4.3 4.3 4.8 4.6 4.5 After 1.3 2.0 1.9 1.6 2.5 1.3 1.5

Figure 2. Summary of practices, number of farms and acres affected, and average evaluation scores recorded before and after technical assistance provided by UVM agronomists to 60 core farms.

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Task 5. Work with farmers to plan high priority practices to implement.

Conservation practice implementation for all farm participants that were assisted by the UVM agronomists is summarized in table 2. The conservation practices were grouped into seven categories for ease of discussion and include Nutrient Management, Manure Management, Conservation Tillage, No-Till, Cover Crops, Other Farmstead Practices and Other Field Practices. A discussion of the types of assistance provided within each conservation practice category follows. The total number of acres includes those where farmers may have applied more than one conservation practice to an individual field, such as a field with a newly developed nutrient management plan that was then planted to a cover crop using no-till methods.

Table 2. Summary of conservation practice assistance and implementation acreage for all farms. Number of Practices Number of Acres Conservation Practices Implemented by with Practices Assisted Farms Implemented Nutrient Management 47 20,897 Manure Management 28 8,109 Conservation Tillage 52 7,540 No-Till 112 6,020 Cover Crops 125 12,360 Farmstead Practices 24 567 Livestock Exclusion 15 393 Other Field Practices 58 2,722 Total for three years 461* 58,608* * This includes all farms that implemented new conservation practices and may include more than one practice for an individual farm or field.

Table 3 shows the breakdown of farm locations by major watersheds (HUC 8) including Lake Champlain direct. A complete listing of the farms assisted is shown in Appendix B and includes the farm location by county, major watershed Hydrologic Unit (HUC 8), sub-watershed Hydrologic Unit (HUC12), and the areas of conservation practice technical assistance provided by the UVM agronomists.

Table 3. Summary of farm location of farms assisted by UVM agronomists in Lake Champlain watershed in Vermont by major watershed name and USGS Hydrologic Unit (HUC 8) Code. Number of Farms Watershed Name Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC 8) 86 Lake Champlain 04150408 41 Missisquoi River 04150407 13 Lamoille River 04150405 17 Winooski River 04150403 80 Otter Creek 04150402 23 Mettawee River 04150401 Total farms assisted in Lake 260 Champlain Watershed, Vermont

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Nutrient Management

Forty seven farms were assisted with Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) development and updates that covered 20,897 acres of farm land in field crop production that included corn, soybean, cereal grain, hay and pasture production. The nutrient management plans were developed to meet the NRCS 590 conservation standard for Nutrient Management and were developed by the farmers as their own farm plan. The farms attended a five-week nutrient management course offered by UVM Extension faculty and staff using the UVM GoCrop software program for individual farm NMP development. Follow-up sessions were provided for annual plan updates and for more in-depth planning for implementation of practices that would meet the goals of the developed NMP. The technical assistance provided the farmers with base information such as land treatment plan maps, soil and manure analysis, and then provided one- on-one assistance with writing and implementing their plan.

Manure Management

Although manure management is a primary component of a Nutrient Management Plan, this category of conservation practices deserves special attention. The increased use of direct injection or immediate incorporation of manure when applied to crop land has a large impact on reducing nutrient loss to surface waters. ACAP professionals assisted 28 farmers with management strategies and funding for 8,109 acres to inject manure or immediately incorporate manure using aeration tillage on both annual crop land and perennial sod hay fields. The agronomists provided support for incentive program enrollment and practice certification in the Vermont Farm Agronomic Practices program and the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Farmers were assisted directly with support for the use of the aerway and gen- till implements made available through the Farmers Watershed Alliance and local conservation districts and indirectly through the contracting of commercial manure applicator businesses with gen-till or injection attachments on dragline manure systems.

Conservation Tillage

Conservation Tillage for this project included various forms of reduced tillage including mulch- till or vertical tillage that allows for full width tillage yet retains more than 60% crop residue ground cover throughout the year. Using these conservation methods, 52 farmers improved 7,540 acres of crop land by reducing soil disturbance and retaining plant material for soil cover throughout winter and through the next spring crop planting to prevent soil erosion and nutrient losses. The agronomists provided information and encouragement for trying these new practices and helping to demonstrate that crop yields would be maintained with proper cropping systems management. Again, the support for incentive program enrollment and practice certification in the state and federal programs was important for initial adoption, but the agronomic support of how to manage manure and fertilizer applications, control weeds and insects, manage residue levels and maintain or increase yields provided a base for continued adoption of the practices.

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No-Till Planting

Expanding the use of no-till planting combined with the use of winter cover crops was a primary objective for technical assistance and educational outreach for the agronomists. No-till planting includes zone-till, strip-till or direct seed planting that only disturbs the soil surface in distinct bands for planting and maintains undisturbed surface cover for the entire field surface. The adoption of no-till planting on 112 farms established new crops on 6,020 acres that conserved soil and ground cover while reducing soil erosion. As a system of soil conservation in corn silage production, no-till planting and cover crops are inextricably linked for the system to be successful, especially on fine-textured soils as found in the lowlands of the Lake Champlain basin. The no-till planting practices that farmers were assisted with included no-till annual crops of corn, soybean and grains, and also no-till planting of annual and perennial seeds into hay fields and pasture.

Cover Crops

The use of winter rye cover crops to protect soil resources and retain nutrients after crop harvest was promoted and demonstrated by the ACAP agronomists in collaboration with UVM faculty and the Strategic Watershed Action Team (SWAT) agronomist in Middlebury. Cover crop implementation by 125 farms on 12,360 acres was directly assisted by the agronomists. Collaboration with SWAT and PMNRCD agronomists, along with financial support from State and Federal partners, resulted in expanding the total number of acres implemented. Aerial seeding of winter rye with a helicopter prior to corn silage harvest was supported with coordination of farm fields with the flight service broadcasting the seed. Several field demonstrations of cover crop plantings, including winter rye and several different combinations of winter rye / legume / brassica mixes, were planted using broadcast and no-till drill methods to support farmer field day events for information transfer. Farmers were provided assistance with field verification and practice certification for established cover crops to assist with state and federal cost-share program compliance.

Other Farmstead Practices

The other farmstead practices included production facilities conservation practices that improved manure storage, clean water separation from livestock manure, barnyard area improvements, milking center waste treatment, precision feed management, silage leachate control and livestock mortality handling. Twenty-four farms were assisted to install improvements on 567 acres to one or more of these systems with financial assistance from NRCS EQIP or the Vermont BMP program.

Other Field Practices

The other field practices included installing grass waterways to reduce soil loss from fields, developing field buffers along perennial streams, cattle fencing to exclude livestock from stream access and improvements to grazing management in pastures. Seventy-three farms implemented

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better livestock management practices on 3,115 acres, primarily through the installation of 15 livestock exclusion projects and improved pasture management.

Additional duties and outcomes for the St Albans agronomist position

Outreach and education programs - Provide program leadership, development and implementation of soil, manure, livestock, crop, and nutrient management training programs.

The UVM agronomist in St. Albans was actively involved with bringing water quality and conservation programming to the farmers and working with partners and farmers to further the adaptation of these important concepts in the Northern Lake. The main focus of the work was in four areas: • Conservation tillage and associated crop system BMPs • Cover cropping on annual crop fields • Nutrient Management Plan development and implementation • GoCrop product development and support for nutrient management mobile application

The UVM agronomist in St. Albans worked with other UVM staff and conservation partners to present the concepts presented above at several meetings from 2012 to 2014. UVM staff presented current research findings and other new conservation technology information at “farmer meetings” and field day events. Farmer meetings included: • NMP Courses, 13 participants • Crops, Soils, and Dairy Meeting, 54 participants • Tillage Summer Field Day with FNLC, 69 participants • Annual Crop and Soil Field Day, 176 participants

No-till Planting and Conservation Tillage

The UVM agronomist in St. Albans also presented at several no-till planter clinics throughout the north and central portions of the watershed. He made numerous site visits to farms providing very specific technical advice on a wide range of topics from no-till equipment preparation and maintenance to cover crop selection strategies, to ways of securing funds to make water quality improvements on their farms.

Through the work of the ACAP agronomist in the northern part of the watershed, many farmers who have attended meetings presented by UVM extension and conservation partners have significantly increased the level of commitment to the adaptation of conservation practices. At least five farmers have purchased no-till planters, two have purchased no-till drills, two have purchased manure injectors, and 30 are doing cover cropping on a much larger scale than previous to when this technical assistance was provided. Many farmers have put retrofit kits on their planters to be able to plant no-till corn and many have requested to make use of the UVM no-till corn planter. Many people have made use of the two no-till drills that are available in that region and are making good process at learning how to best reseed meadows instead of plowing

Page 11 of 18 them up and turning them into corn. Farmers recognize much more now, in part through the work of this project, that there are practices they can implement that provide positive changes to the environment which fit into their management styles.

Precision Feed Management

The St. Albans ACAP agronomist actively engaged in the implementation of Precision Feed Management (PFM) strategies on small, medium, and large farms in the Lake Champlain Basin. The focus of the effort to this point has been data collection and processing to analyze the relationships between ration Phosphorus levels and the Phosphorus levels in manure. We have documented that when feed stock (grain ingredients) contain elevated levels of P it tends to elevate the P content of the overall ration and above 32% (DM basis), P levels in the manure begin to elevate. We are educating farmers about selecting lower P level feed ingredients and feeding more home grown feeds to reduce the amount of P being imported to the farm. This is a vastly under-utilized tool in the current efforts to reduce P levels in the lake. With the heavy concentration of dairy animals in the basin and our less than ideal soil types and highly variable weather systems, most dairy farmers rely heavily on grain to balance feed rations to high producing cows. UVM Extension has implemented a strategy based on Cornell’s PFM protocols and has been working with farms to implement strategies to reduce the importation of nutrients to the farm. One major challenge to our work is that, on some farms, this approach requires significant changes in management styles to be successful. To reduce the amount of grain fed and maintain production levels requires that home grown forages must be of the highest quality and this requires high levels of feed management. This involves the selection of high quality forages, harvesting at optimum protein and energy levels, and attention to detail in regard to feed storage. The benefit of successful implementation of PFM strategies makes farms more profitable and reduces the negative effects of farming on the environment. We are currently working with NRCS staff to be able to get cost share through EQIP funding sources to stimulate interest in this approach to reducing nutrients leaving farms.

The UVM agronomist in St Albans implemented a PFM protocol on two of the core farms. Working with the farmers and their nutritionists and veterinarians we investigated how to reduce dependence on purchased feeds and looked at how phosphorus levels in feed corresponds to phosphorus levels in manure. The feed and manure were sampled every month and compiled into a data base looking at herd health, milk production and milk quality, and the cost of purchased feeds and phosphorus levels of those feeds. The data indicates that, depending on the amount of purchased feeds and what the components of those feeds are, the phosphorus levels in the total mixed ration fed to the cow will vary as will the phosphorus levels in the manure. This is significant because PFM is currently an under-utilized method for controlling the phosphorus being placed on the fields. If farmers can lower the amount of phosphorus their manure contains but still grow high quality forages and manage their feed programs to account for phosphorus levels, they can substantially reduce phosphorus going onto fields. Currently there is NRCS EQIP funding to help farmers implement precision feed management practices but no technical service providers to help get these practices started. The idea of manipulating the cows ration is very controversial because it is very important to the financial well-being of the farmer and the health of the cow. UVM Extension staff is working to break this barrier with the farming and dairy nutrition advising community.

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Task 6. Additional sources of funding and technical assistance.

The outreach and implementation efforts of the UVM agronomists has been enhanced by collaborative teamwork with other program agronomists and agency staff to secure additional funding relating to conservation practices identified as high priority. These additional funds have allowed for additional farmer education and outreach, additional implementation of on-farm practices, and farmer workshops designed to demonstrate and inspire additional conservation practice adoption.

Livestock Exclusion was identified as a high priority conservation practice and as part of the ACAP project, additional financial assistance of $132,869 was provided to UVM through a grant agreement with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation with funding from Lake Champlain Basin Program for implementation of livestock exclusion fencing projects. A total of sixteen livestock exclusion projects were identified and evaluated and eight were determined to be high priority and completed. The eight (8) completed projects in Addison and Chittenden counties included 26,342 feet of fencing installed on 193 acres of pasture adjacent to perennial streams where livestock had direct access to the stream and stream banks. Livestock excluded by the fencing systems include 360 dairy heifers plus 52 beef cow/calf or steers. Fence types included both high tensile smooth wire and barbed wire fences. All eight projects required livestock water system development and distribution to provide clean drinking water to the animals while on pasture. Only one project required a tributary stream crossing to access the pasture. Seven (7) additional farm projects with 22,163 feet of fencing for 420 cattle were installed in Franklin County through collaboration with the Franklin Grand Isle Farmer’s Watershed Alliance with funding provided by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.

No-Till planting of crops was identified as a high priority conservation practice and additional financial assistance of $96,000 was provided through an Ecosystem Restoration Program grant award to UVM in Middlebury from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation for the purchase and use of two Haybuster No-Till Grain Drills. During the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons the UVM agronomists in Middlebury collaborated with PMNRCD agronomist in Poultney to engage 143 farms in the region to no-till plant 3,421 acres using the two grain drills, including 1,318 ac hay land renovation, 1,225 ac pasture renovation, 137 ac alternative grain crops and 742 ac winter rye cover crops. A similar program of providing no-till grain drill and no-till corn planter equipment available for farmer use was supported by State of Vermont capital funds grants to purchase equipment for demonstration by the agronomist in St Albans. The UVM agronomists also assisted individual farmers who applied for capital funds grants through the Agency of Agriculture to purchase and document use of 16 no-till corn planters on their own farms. A Soil Health Demonstration Farm on Clay Soil project supported by a $75,000 Conservation Innovation Grant from Vermont NRCS and is currently managed by the agronomist in Middlebury, as well as a $14,986 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) project to demonstrate to farmers Aeration Tillage Effects on Hay Yield and Soil Health in Clay Soils.

Nutrient Management Plan development was identified as a high priority conservation practice and $58,000 additional financial assistance was provided to UVM in 2013-14 through the State

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of Vermont, Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets for Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) Cost Share Program to conduct NMP development courses and update workshops for farmers in Lake Champlain watershed. UVM Extension agronomists assisted with teaching classes and assisting farmers to prepare for and complete their own NMP using goCrop™, an electronic nutrient management tool that uses integrated web and mobile applications to help farmers plan, analyze and report nutrient management practices. UVM agronomists assisted farmers to secure additional individual grant funds from the Vermont NMP program in 2012 and 2013 for NMP development and updates. In 2014, the agronomists collaborated with local Natural Resources Conservation Districts to support farmer enrollment in the Agricultural Outreach Initiative (AOI) and promoted enrollment in the USDA NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for Nutrient Management Plans. UVM agronomists in Middlebury secured an additional $14,785 through a LCBP grant for a Nutrient Management Implementation Assistance program to start farmers with soil and manure sampling and initial NMP development.

Cover Crops was identified as a high priority conservation practice and $300,000 additional financial assistance was provided in 2013-14 through an award to UVM from the State of Vermont, Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets for Farm Agronomic Practice (FAP) implementation of winter cover crops, conservation tillage and alternative manure incorporation to support the UVM agronomists work with the Franklin & Grand Isle Farmer Watershed Alliance and Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition. UVM agronomists assisted farmers to secure additional individual grant funds from the Vermont FAP program and promoted enrollment in the USDA NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in 2012 and 2013 for these same conservation practices. Grant funds provided by Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) supported initiation of an aerial seeding program for winter rye into standing corn silage. Funds were secured to conduct many farmer workshops including a two-day No-Till and Cover Crop Symposium, Soil Health Field Day, Grazing management Workshop, Conservation Practices Workshop, Corn Planter Retrofit Workshop so farmers could exchange ideas with each other to increase interest in conservation practice adoption.

Task 7. Coordinate and share activities.

The UVM agronomists and UVM faculty on the project regularly met with other agronomists and staff in the region and in the state to coordinate efforts for project implementation. Project coordination and updates were conducted on a weekly basis in the two Extension offices. Conference calls and on-site visits were conducted as needed to troubleshoot implementation concerns, to plan implementation strategies and to share conservation successes by farmers. The UVM Agronomy Outreach Professionals that were hired as a result of funding by The Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) project have become fully integrated into a Lake Champlain watershed based agronomy outreach team that also includes the outreach professionals initiated by the Lake Champlain Strategic Watershed Action Team (SWAT) project funded by USDA NRCS. There are currently six agronomists, two UVM faculty and support staff who work together within the region to assist farmers with adopting practices to promote healthy soils and reduce non-point source pollution. The reporting of individual funding source outputs and outcomes has become inter-connected as these outreach staff work so closely together on a wide range of projects that involve so many farmers. The success is in the

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collaboration and synergy that this team has developed in providing outreach support to the farmers throughout the watershed. The sources of funding for agronomy outreach in the entire watershed has been broadened to include over a dozen separate grants that support staff salaries, operational expenses and project implementation financial assistance for farmers. The original base funding for staff has been through the ACAP and SWAT programs, but during the past three years they have also been supported by other projects that enabled a far greater impact with outreach and direct contacts with farmers. The future of keeping this team engaged and moving forward will be with more fully integrating the team as the primary goal with financial support derived from many sources that mesh together to support the team as a whole.

Quarterly compliance reporting of activities was compiled for all three of the ACAP agronomists by Jeff Carter and forwarded as a summary report each quarter to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation state program contact, the Lake Champlain Basin Program Technical Coordinator and Program Manager, and to the University of Vermont Extension Associate Dean and Director for Faculty and Programs. This final report constitutes the compliance impact report for the UVM portion of the ACAP project for the outreach and technical assistance provided by the UVM agronomists and staff.

Task 8. Reassess to document progress and identify remaining needs.

Specific areas or practices to be addressed in future efforts to include: • Nutrient management planning, record-keeping and farm mass nutrient balance • Manure handling and application including direct injection or incorporation • Cover Crops including single and multi-species winter cover crops • Conservation tillage including aeration, no-till and reduced tillage systems • Field buffers, Sensitive area seeding, Grassed waterways • Livestock exclusion from streams

Continue to identify additional sources of funding and technical assistance through state and federal programs or competitive grants that could be used to construct or implement conservation practices identified as farm priorities.

Development and delivery support for farmer educational activities including UVM GoCrop Nutrient Management Course, No-Till and Cover Crop Symposium, Manure Applicator Training, Precision Feed Management, cover crop field day and field demonstration and research trials on participating farmers’ fields.

Promote agricultural water quality program participation through Extension newsletters and postings, through collaboration with Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition and Franklin Grand Isle Farmer’s Watershed Alliance.

Coordinate and share activities with other agronomists, state and federal partner staff.

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Quality Assurance Tasks Completed:

Compliance with the NEIWPCC Quality Assurance Project Plan (version 1, 4/14/11) was completed including those items listed under project management, measurement/data acquisition, assessment/oversight and data validation and usability.

For University of Vermont: A3 - Distribution list. Completed with no change. A4 - Project/Task Organization. Completed the assigned task on amended schedule in a quality manner that was technically correct and meets all aspects of the QAPP. A5 - Problem Definition/Background. Completed with no change. A6 - Project/Task Description. Completed with a no-cost extension to extend end date to June 30, 2014. A7 - Quality Objectives and Criteria for Measurement Data. All Tasks 1-10 in Section A6 have been accomplished. A8 - Special Training Requirements/Certifications. No certification required. A9 - Documentation and Records. Checklist and inventory paper copies stored at UVM Extension. Electronic quarterly reports distributed to VTDEC and LCBP and stored on UVM server with duplicate remote backup. B1 - Sampling Process Design. Data collected by paper inventory for core farms, all other data collected electronically in activity summaries mapped by USGS sub-watershed HUC12 code. B9 - Data Acquisition Requirements for Non-Direct Measurements. Participants who developed or updated Nutrient Management Plan generated P-Index scores. B10 - Data Management. Checklist and inventory paper copies stored at UVM Extension. Electronic quarterly reports distributed to VTDEC and LCBP and stored on UVM server with duplicate remote backup. C1 - Assessments and Response Actions. No corrective actions related to the QAPP were required by VTDEC Project and QA Manager. C2 - Reports to Management. UVM Extension Jeff Carter collated and sent 14 electronic quarterly activity summaries to Rick Hopkins VTDEC Project and QA Manager, Michaela Stickney VTDEC Project Officer, and to Eric Howe LCBP Project Officer. D1 - Data Review, Validation, and Verification Requirements. Checklist and inventories available for review by VTDEC Project and QA Manager. D2 - Validation and Verification Methods. Checklist and inventories available for review by VTDEC Project and QA Manager at UVM Extension office. D3 - Reconciliation with User Requirements. All Tasks 1-10 in Section A6 have been accomplished.

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Deliverables Completed:

1. The original expected outcomes for the project were that the 60 participating farmers would implement conservation practices that will result in a reduction of soil and nutrient export from farm production facilities and fields. The delivered results were that 260 participating farms were assisted with conservation practice planning and implementation and all of the farms implemented at least one new conservation practice as a result.

2. Not all farms increased use of soil and manure testing, but all of the 47 farms that developed a NRCS 590 Standard Nutrient Management Plan as part of the UVM Extension planning workshops did increase use of these testing practices. Additionally, many farmers who were interested in cover crops and no-till were assisted with soil sampling to help in evaluations of field conditions and suitability for management practice changes.

3. Fifteen farms completed Livestock Exclusion fencing projects to protect stream bank and water resources on their farms as a direct result of planning and installation oversight by the UVM agronomists.

4. The project did not provide for detailed RUSLE2 calculations for all farms that implemented reduced tillage practices or started planting cover crops. The farms that completed a Nutrient Management Plan or participated in an NRCS EQIP contract for Conservation tillage or Cover Cropping were provided RUSLE2 soil erosion calculations for all fields enrolled in their Land Treatment Plan.

5. Aeration of cropland using a Gen-Till or Aerway machine was implemented on 28 farms for manure incorporation as part of the Vermont Farm Agronomic Practices program or NRCS EQIP program that was assisted by the agronomists. Additionally, several farmers used aeration tillage as a form of conservation tillage without the application of manure to loosen the soil in an attempt to reduce surface compaction in hay fields and pastures.

6. Participating farmers have described their experiences working with UVM Extension outreach agronomists as a positive experience. Comments taken from farmers include a desire to see a continuation of funding for the Extension agronomy program.

7. Documentation of farmer responses to conservation practice implementation outcomes is held in electronic and written documents at UVM Extension and has only been shared in summary form that keeps individual names, comments and data confidential unless specifically requested by the farmer to be shared in assisting with fulfilling contract obligations with state and federal programs for practice implementation incentive programs.

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Conclusions:

Farmers responded well and expressed their appreciation for the direct technical assistance provided by the outreach efforts of the agronomy team supported by the Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program. The response of farmers exceeded the original planned effort that would have involved two agronomists working with a total of sixty farms. The geographic focus of farms assisted shifted in response to where the smaller livestock farms who requested assistance were located. The value of the ACAP agronomy team that included two agronomy outreach professionals, two UVM faculty agronomists, field technician and administrative assistant staff was the expanded capacity to work directly with 260 individual farmers who quickly implemented and adopted the use of 461 selected conservation practices. The primary strength of the agronomy outreach effort was that additional complimentary project funds were secured to expand the original technical assistance effort to include additional education outreach, field demonstrations, on-farm research and support for farmers to use specialized equipment to try new conservation practices at low risk to their business prior to full-scale adoption on their farm.

The UVM Agronomy Outreach Professionals that were hired as a result of funding by The Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) project have become fully integrated into a larger “Agronomy Team” that also includes UVM faculty and the agronomy and grazing outreach professionals supported by the Lake Champlain Strategic Watershed Action Team (SWAT) project funded by Vermont NRCS. There are currently six agronomists, two UVM faculty and support staff who work together within the region to assist farmers with adopting farm practices to promote healthy soils, cleaner production facilities and reduce non-point source pollution. The success is in the collaboration and synergy that this team has developed in providing outreach support to the farm clients. The original base funding for staff has been through the ACAP and SWAT projects, but during the past three years they have also been supported by other projects that enabled a far greater impact with outreach and direct contacts with farmers. The extent of funding for this project was broadened to include several separate grants awarded to UVM Extension that supported staff salaries, operational expenses and project implementation dollars for farmers. The future of keeping this agronomy outreach team engaged and moving forward will be with support for a more fully integrated team as the primary goal and financial support derived from many sources that work together to support the agronomy outreach team as a whole.

The strengthening of the UVM Extension Agronomy outreach program that was initiated by the Agronomy and Conservation Assistance Program has become a very important driving force to enable farmer involvement with efforts to reduce agricultural pollution in Lake Champlain. The state of Vermont and all conservation partners working on behalf of the Lake Champlain clean- up efforts should recognize and fully support this on-going process of agronomy technical assistance outreach and education that gets so many farmers involved in the process of protecting water quality in Lake Champlain.

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Appendix A Whole Farm Inventory

Farm Practice Checklist ______Date ______Farm ID

Watershed

Livestock Number Avg. Weight Where Located/Managed Mature Cows Dry Cows Heifers Yearlings Calves Beef Cows Horses Sheep/Other

Land & Crops Acres Use/Rotations Corn Silage Corn Grain 1st year Corn Soy Cereal Grain Grass Hay Legume Hay 1st year Hay Pasture

Concerns

Water

Production

Neighbors Farmstead Sketch Site ID ______

Farm Practice Inventory

Make Notes, 1 2 3 4 5 Mark X

Nutrient Management

Soil & Manure Soil Tests w/out CNMP Followed Tests w/Plan Overall Plan No Current Tests No Plan

Manure Storage

Good Storage Storage Appears Storage Certified OK w/Problems Transfer Spills No Storage

Manure Handling

Calibrated Excess Fully Installed Spreaders Clean Operation Applications Spills

Soil Aeration Manure Injection

100% cover 50% cover < 1 Day incorp. None

Conservation Tillage

No-Till Reduced / Zone Rotation Plan “T” Not meet “T”

Cover Crops

10” Rye on all CS Rye Cover Late No Cover on CS > 6 mo. Exposure Farm Practice Inventory

Make Notes, 1 2 3 4 5 Mark X

Farmstead Clean Water Separation All Gutters No Visible Diverted Clean Few Areas Incoming Water Drains/Dripline Mixing Water Contaminated through manure

Barnyard Areas

Clean Water Manure Runoff, All covered Separated > 100’ to Water Grass Filter Area No Grass Filter

Milking Center Waste

Into Storage No Surface Septic System Unknown System Overland Flow

Feed Management

Storage and Low Forage Values not Weekly Rations NDF, P levels Feeding Concerns Quality Known

Silage Leachate

No Water Problem Partial Control System in Place No Leachate/Bags > 35% DM < 35% DM Needs Control

Livestock Mortality

Compost Not Compost / Off-site working/runoff Burial > 200’ Water Concern Carcass Pile Farm Practice Inventory

Make Notes, 1 2 3 4 5 Mark X

Sensitive Area Seeding/ Grassed Waterways Vegetation Improvement Gully/Bank No Critical Areas Needed Degraded Areas Heavy Use Areas Repairs Needed

Field Buffers

All 35’ buffer Grass buffers 10’ cropland buffer None

Pasture

Water System & Walkways Need Continuous, Degraded Full Vegetation Paddocks Improvement Run Down Feeding Areas

Cattle Exclusion from Streams

No Water Fully Installed No Apparent Water Lanes into Concerns Crossings Concerns Streams for Water Bank Degradation

Other

Other

Assistance Notes

Date / Who

Appendix B. Listing of individual farm locations by county, hydrologic unit (HUC 8), sub-watershed hydrologic unit (HUC12) name and number, and Conservation Practice implemented.

Farm ID Core Farm County HUC_8 Name HUC_12 Number HUC_12 Name NMP MAN CT NT CC OFS OFI 1 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081102 Carman Brook‐Missisquoi Bay x 2 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081102 Carman Brook‐Missisquoi Bay x x 3 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081102 Carman Brook‐Missisquoi Bay x 4 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080104 Charter Brook‐Lake Champlain x 5 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080301 East Creek x x 6 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080301 East Creek x x x 7 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080301 East Creek x 8 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080301 East Creek x x 9 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080501 Headwaters Lewis Creek x 10 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080501 Headwaters Lewis Creek x 11 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080501 Headwaters Lewis Creek x 12 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080501 Headwaters Lewis Creek x x 13 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504080501 Headwaters Lewis Creek x 14 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080401 Headwaters Little Otter Creek x 15 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080401 Headwaters Little Otter Creek x x 16 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080401 Headwaters Little Otter Creek 17 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080401 Headweaters Little Otter Creek x x x 18 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080602 Hoisington Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 19 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080602 Hoisington Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 20 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504080602 Hoisington Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 21 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080602 Hoisington Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 22 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook x 23 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook x x 24 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook x x x x 25 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook x 26 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook x 27 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook 28 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081201 Jewett Brook, St‐Albans Bay‐Lake xx 041504081204 Champlain 29 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504080801 La Platte River x x 30 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504081604 Lake Champlain x x 31 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081604 Lake Champlain x x 32 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081604 Lake Champlain x x 33 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080502 Lewis Creek x 34 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080502 Lewis Creek x 35 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080402 Little Otter Creek x x x 36 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080402 Little Otter Creek x x 37 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080402 Little Otter Creek x 38 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504080902 Malletts Bay x x 39 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504080902 Malletts Bay x 40 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504080901 Malletts Creek x 41 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 42 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 43 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x x 44 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x 45 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain 46 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x 47 Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x 48 x Addison Lake Champlain 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x x x 49 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081202 Mill River 50 xGrand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081203 Mud Creek x 51 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081203 Mud Creek x 52 x Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081203 Mud Creek, Lake Champlainxxxxx x 041504081604 53 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504030703 Muddy Brook x x 54 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504080802 Munroe Brook‐Shelburne Bay x x 55 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081001 Pike River xx 56 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081001 Pike River x x 57 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081001 Pike River xxx 58 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081001 Pike River, St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x xxxx 59 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x x x 60 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x x 61 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 62 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x xxx x 63 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 64 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 65 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 66 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River xx xxxx 67 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 68 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x x x 69 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 70 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x 71 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x x 72 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x x 73 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River x x 74 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River, Hungerford Brook, Outlet xxx x 75 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 Rock River, Ruiss Coslett‐Riviere Aux x xxxx 76 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain xxxx 77 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x x 78 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x x x x Farm ID Core Farm County HUC_8 Name HUC_12 Number HUC_12 Name NMP MAN CT NT CC OFS OFI 79 x Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x x x x x x 80 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x 81 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x 82 xGrand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x x 83 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x 84 Grand Isle Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x 85 Chittenden Lake Champlain 041504081204 St Albans Bay‐Lake Champlain x 86 Franklin Lake Champlain 041504081101 St Albans‐ Jewett Brook, Carman Brook‐ x 041504081102 Missisquoi Bay 87 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek x x x 88 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek x 89 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek x 90 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek x 91 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek x 92 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek, Dead Creek x x x 041504070502 93 x Franklin Missisquoi River Lamoille 041504070503 Black Creek, Goodswell Brook‐Lamoille xx x River 041504070402 River, Stones Brook‐Lamoille River 041504070305 94 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070503 Black Creek, Headwaters Black Creek x x x 041504070501 95 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070502 Dead Creek x x 96 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 97 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 98 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River 99 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 100 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 101 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi Riverxxxxx 102 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 103 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 104 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070402 Goodsell Brook‐Missisquoi River x 105 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070501 Headwaters Black Creek x 106 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070501 Headwaters Black Creek x x 107 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070602 Hungerford Brook xx 108 Rutland Missisquoi River 041504070602 Hungerford Brook x x 109 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070602 Hungerford Brook x x x 110 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070204 Lucas Brook‐Missisquoi River, Riviere xxx x 041504070203 Sutton, Goosell Brook‐Missisquoi River, 041504070402 Hungerford Brook 041504070602 111 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River x 112 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River x x 113 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River x 114 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River x x 115 Rutland Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River x 116 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River x x x 117 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070601 McGowan Brook‐Missisquoi River, 041504070602 Hungerford Brook x xxxxx 118 Orleans Missisquoi River 041504070104 Mud Creek x x x 119 Orleans Missisquoi River 041504070104 Mud Creek x 120 Orleans Missisquoi River 041504070104 Mud Creek x 121 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070603 Outlet Missisquoi River x x 122 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070203 Riviere Sutton, Lucas Brook‐Missisquoi xx 041504070204 River, Headwaters Trout River, Trout 041504070301 River 041504070302 123 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070401 Tyler Branch x x 124 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070401 Tyler Branch x 125 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070401 Tyler Branch x x 126 Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070401 Tyler Branch x 127 x Franklin Missisquoi River 041504070401 Tyler Branch, Goodsell 041504070402 Brook‐Missisquoi River xxxx 128 Chittenden Lamoille River 041504050303 Brewster River‐Lamoille River, Seymour 041504050304 River‐Lamoille River x 129 Chittenden Lamoille River 041504050202 Browns River x x 130 x Chittenden Lamoille River 041504050202 Browns River x x x 131 Franklin Lamoille River 041504050202 Browns River, Lamoille River x 041504050306 132 Caledonia Lamoille River 041504050102 Hardwick Lake Dam‐Lamoille River x 133 Chittenden Lamoille River 041504050201 Headwaters Browns River x x 134 Caledonia Lamoille River 041504050101 Headwaters Lamoille River x 135 Franklin Lamoille River 041504050306 Lamoille River x 136 x Franklin Lamoille River 041504050306 Lamoille River x x x 137 x Chittenden Lamoille River 041504050306 Lamoille Riverxxx 138 Franklin Lamoille River 041504050304 Seymour River‐Lamoille River x x 139 x Franklin Lamoille River 041504050305 Stones Brook‐Lamoille River xxxxx 140 x Franklin Lamoille River 041504050305 Stones Brook‐Lamoille Riverxxxx 141 Washington Winooski River 041504030402 Dog River x 142 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030701 Hungtington River x 143 Orange Winooski River 041504030102 Jail Branch x 144 Washington Winooski River 041504030504 Mad River x 145 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x 146 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x x 147 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x x 148 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x Farm ID Core Farm County HUC_8 Name HUC_12 Number HUC_12 Name NMP MAN CT NT CC OFS OFI 149 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x x 150 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x x 151 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030702 Snipe Island Brook‐Winooski River x 152 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030704 Winooski River x 153 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030704 Winooski River x x 154 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030704 Winooski River x x 155 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030704 Winooski River x 156 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030704 Winooski River x x 157 Chittenden Winooski River 041504030704 Winooski River x x 158 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020302 Bresee Mill Brook‐Otter Creek x 159 x Rutland Otter Creek 041504020302 Bresee Mill Brook‐Otter Creek x 160 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020508 Clarendon River x 161 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 162 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x x 163 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x x x 164 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x x x x 165 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek 166 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 167 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek 168 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x x x 169 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 170 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 171 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 172 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 173 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 174 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 175 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 176 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 177 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 178 Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x 179 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x x x 180 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020501 Dead Creek x x x 181 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020104 Headwaters Mill Creek x 182 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020104 Headwaters Mill Creek x x 183 x Rutland Otter Creek 041504020101 Headwaters Otter Creek x x x 184 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020103 Homer Stone Brook‐Otter Creek x x 185 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020103 Homer Stone Brook‐Otter Creek x x x 186 Addison Otter Creek 041504020305 Leicester River x 187 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x 188 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x x x 189 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x 190 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x 191 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x 192 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x x x 193 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x x 194 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x 195 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x x 196 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x x 197 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x x 198 Addison Otter Creek 041504020402 Lower Lemon Fair River x 199 Addison Otter Creek 041504080304 McKenzie Brook‐Lake Champlain x 200 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020306 Middlebury River x x 201 Addison Otter Creek 041504020306 Middlebury River x 202 x Rutland Otter Creek 041504020109 Moon Brook‐Otter Creek x x 203 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020303 Neshobe River x x 204 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River x 205 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River x 206 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River x x 207 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River x 208 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River x x 209 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River 210 Addison Otter Creek 041504020203 New Haven River 211 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020502 Otter Creek x 212 Addison Otter Creek 041504020502 Otter Creek x 213 Addison Otter Creek 041504020502 Otter Creek x 214 Addison Otter Creek 041504020502 Otter Creek x 215 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020502 Otter Creek x x 216 Addison Otter Creek 041504020502 Otter Creek x 217 Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 218 Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 219 Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x x 220 Addison Otter Creek 041504020507 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 221 Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 222 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x x x x 223 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 224 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 225 Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x x 226 Addison Otter Creek 041504020307 Pleasant Brook‐Otter Creek x 227 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River x 228 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River x 229 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River x 230 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River xxxxx 231 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River x x 232 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River x 233 x Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River xxx x Farm ID Core Farm County HUC_8 Name HUC_12 Number HUC_12 Name NMP MAN CT NT CC OFS OFI 234 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Fair River 235 Addison Otter Creek 041504020401 Upper Lemon Rair River x 236 Addison Otter Creek 041504020304 Willow Brook‐Otter Creek x 237 Rutland Otter Creek 041504020304 Willow Brook‐Otter Creek x 238 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010304 Castleton River x 239 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010302 Finel Hollow Brook‐Poultney River x 240 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010202 Flower Brook 241 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010303 Headwaters Castleton River x x x 242 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010201 Headwaters Mettawee River x 243 Bennington Mettawee River 041504010201 Headwaters Mettawee River x 244 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010201 Headwaters Mettawee River x x 245 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010201 Headwaters Mettawee River x x 246 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010301 Headwaters Poultney River x x x 247 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010301 Headwaters Poultney River x 248 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010301 Headwaters Poultney River x 249 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010306 Hubbardton River x x 250 x Rutland Mettawee River 041504010306 Hubbardton River x x 251 x Rutland Mettawee River 041504010306 Hubbardton River xxxx 252 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010204 Indian River x x 253 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010205 Mettawee River x x 254 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010305 Mud Brook‐Poultney River x 255 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010203 Wells Brook‐Mettawee River x 256 x Rutland Mettawee River 041504010203 Wells Brook‐Mettawee Riverxxxx 257 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010203 Wells Brook‐Mettawee River x x x 258 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010203 Wells Brook‐Mettawee River x x 259 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010203 Wells Brook‐Mettawee River x x 260 Rutland Mettawee River 041504010203 Wells Brook‐Mettawee River x