Agriculture 



most cost-effective system. Maximum PL-566 cost share funding for control of 

 agricultural runoff-related pollution is limited to 50 percent of the cost of the most cost 

 effective system, and a similar 50 percent limit applies to waste management facilities. A 

 one time flat-rate payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of adoption may be made for 

 contour farming. 



Funding caps are also applied to the cost share arrangement Previously, a cap of 

 $3500 per year was applied, regardless of the distribution of an operator's costs over time. 

 Cunendy, the ASCS provision for long-term agreements provides for initial outiays of up 

 to $35,000, but an operator must agree to undertake an equal amount of expenditure over a 

 ten year period to balance the $3500 per year federal commitment. 



Frequentiy, the costs of implementation go well above what has been anticipated, and 

 the long-term agreement provision can do litUe to alleviate the situation. Some animal 

 waste facilities range in cost from $12,000 to $35,000. As a result, the federal cost-share 

 incentive is often inadequate to encourage a farmer to implement practices. A state cost 

 share matching program for animal waste management facilities enacted in Rhode Island for 

 FY 87, though limited, has helped to alleviate the problems of cost uncertainty. Under the 

 new program, which was enacted as a two year effort, a total of $20,000 per year for two 

 years is provided to match federal cost share contributions to projects. The state will 

 provide 40 percent cost share, again, up to an annual cap of $3500, and USDA will 

 provide 75 percent, up to the same cap. Combined cost share cannot exceed 90 percent, 

 but the increased incentive was sufficient to increase applications to SCS for participation 

 from an annual average of one to two per year to 13 in 1987. 



The cost-share problem is exacerbated by a fairly widespread misconception among 

 many farmers (and some field office personnel interviewed) that SCS "overdesigns" 

 projects according to standards that are excessively rigorous. Actually, the standards are 

 established to ensure that practices will function properly for their design life. Design life 

 for structural practices is 10 to 25 years. Unfortunately, operators are aware that ASCS 

 occasionally awards payment to operators whose constructed projects are not fully 

 approved by SCS. In some cases, the observed inconsistencies tend to inspire skepticism 

 and poor compliance. 



Recommendations to ASCS/SCS 



***Ensure that consistent deflnitions and terms apply, with regard to 

 satisfactory practice completion, among ACSC, SCS, the Conservation 

 Districts, state officials, and any other decision-makers guiding 

 implementation. 



**Ensure that lessons learned throughout the project life of the Aquidneck Island 

 Watershed Protection Project are circulated among the basin's farming community. 

 Establish demonstration projects and on-site observation programs. 



♦♦Consider establishing "watershed neighbors" networks to enable operators facing similar 

 control needs to circulate results of practice installations among themselves. 



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