MAEAP Fiscal Year 2015 Accomplishments in Gratiot County

The Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) is an innovative, proactive, and voluntary program that helps farms of all sizes and all commodities prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks. MAEAP has continued to move forward this year and has seen great support from the agricultural community here in Gratiot County. While the final step in the MAEAP process is verification, many producers begin mitigating high risk practices long before that takes place. The Conservation District reached out to many producers in FY’15, providing a vast number of services and bringing the total number of MAEAP Verifications in the county to 67 throughout the life of the program.
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Fiscal Year 2015 accomplishments include:

• Conducted 23 voluntary on-farm environmental risk assessments
• Helped producers attain over 220 risk-reducing practices
• 6 individuals took part in a free well water screening for nitrates and nitrites
• Held 3 Phase 1 Educational events reaching over 200 people; 13 of which expressed a higher level of MAEAP interest
• Partnered with Gratiot Farm Bureau to host 1 of the Phase 1 Educational event as a result of a partnership mini-grant
• Assisted producers to achieve 8 new MAEAP Verifications and 2 Re-Verifications
  
  

These 8 verifications resulted in the substantiation or adoption of conservation practices resulting in:

• Reduction of almost 19,128 tons/yr of sediment delivery to surface and groundwater
• Phosphorus reduction of over 30,605 lbs/yr to surface and groundwater
• Reduction of over 61,210lbs/yr of Nitrogen delivery to surface and groundwater
• 6,225 acres of conservation tillage
• 2,980 acres of no-till/zone-till tillage
• 2,459 acres of cover crops planted
• 31.2 miles of filer strips are maintained
  
  

Gratiot County Farms who achieved MAEAP Verification in 2015

• Fisher Tradition Farms, Inc. – Cropping Verification
• Jerry Grigar Farm – Cropping Verification
• J. Humm Farms, LLC – Farmstead Verification
• Kendall English Farms – Farmstead & Cropping Verification
• Stoneman Farms, LLC – Cropping Verification
• Wiles Farm– Farmstead & Cropping Verification

Gratiot County MAEAP Verified Farms in Good Standing

• Brown Farms – Cropping System
• Cary Pioneer Farms – Farmstead, Livestock & Cropping Systems
• Crumbaugh Farms, LLC – Farmstead, Livestock & Cropping Systems
• Fabus Family Farms – Cropping System
• Fisher Tradition Farms, Inc. – Cropping System
• Four D Farms,LLC – Farmstead & Livestock Systems
• G & L Waldron Farms, LLC – Cropping System
• Greg DeMott Farm – Cropping System
• High Point Livestock – Cropping System
• Humm Farms, LLC – Farmstead & Cropping Systems
• Huyck Farms - Farmstead & Cropping Systems
• Jerry Grigar Farm – Cropping System
• J. Humm Farms, LLC – Farmstead System
• Kendall English Farm – Farmstead & Cropping Systems
• Maple Shade Farm – Farmstead & Livestock Systems
• Miller Family Farm – Farmstead & Cropping Systems
• Nelson Farms – Cropping System
• Owens Farm – Farmstead & Livestock Systems
• Stoneman Farms, LLC – Cropping System
• Stoneman Pro Services – Farmstead System
• Wiles Farm – Farmstead & Cropping System
• Willow Creek Farms – Farmstead & Livestock Systems