Agriculture 



c) work with RC&D program to improve markets for crops, livestock, and other 

 agricultural products; 



d) coordinate closely with DEM's open space and agricultural land preservation 

 programs; 



e) develop or adapt educational materials which promote purchase of development 

 rights, use of conservation easements, formation of land trusts, and other farmland 

 protection methods. Numerous resource materials are available, including, for 

 example, publications of Save tiie Bay, the Connecticut Land Trust Service Bureau, 

 the Conservation Law Foundation of New England, the Institute for Rural 

 Massachusetts at the University of Massachusetts, and the Nature Conservancy. 



**In cooperation with SCS and Cooperative Extension Service agents, develop an 

 expanded information and education program on non-point source control issues: 



a) Sponsor field days with SCS, local officials, interest groups, and members of the 

 farming community. Establish demonstration plots, and hold group meetings, 

 workshops and tours to show land users how resource management systems or 

 best management practices are applied and how the resulting benefits may be 

 measured. 



b) Develop a special information program and materials for livestock producers. 

 Explain the effect of agricultural waste on water quality, the benefits of managing 

 agricultural waste as an economic resource and the assistance available to land users 

 with agricultural waste problems. 



c) Develop slide sets and video tapes for distribution to Cooperative Extension Service 

 County agents for their use with educational programs. 



d) Work with URI to enhance communication between agricultural operators and the 

 scientific community. Conservation districts are well-positioned to share results of 

 scientific findings and demonstration projects with farmers and to help focus 

 research efforts on local needs and issues. 



Recommendations to the Rhode Island Department of Revenue 



♦♦Consider developing a tax relief program for Rhode Island agricultural operators who 

 have worked with SCS to prepare farm conservation plans, and are actively participating in 

 sound agricultural non-point source management efforts. In addition, there is a need for 

 up-fiont financial assistance to enable many operators to meet the match requirements of 

 practice installation. 



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