– first published in the June 2026 issue of The Equiery by MDA’s Horse Outreach Workgroup

A Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan (Conservation Plan or Farm Plan), is a tool that can help you protect and enhance the natural resources that support your farming operation. Technical staff working in your local Soil Conservation District develop conservation plans for farmers free of charge. These plans identify a farm’s critical natural resources, pinpoint problem areas, and set realistic goals and timelines for making improvements. Each plan is unique and addresses natural resource concerns for the entire farming operation. All of the information contained in the conservation plan belongs to you. Farmers have the final say on which practices to install and how and when to proceed. A conservation plan should be updated if major changes are made to your operation, or at a minimum, every ten years. These plans do not provide public access to your property. As the farmer or landowner, you control the right of entry and use.

Benefits of a Conservation Plan

A Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan can help you improve productivity by making the best possible use of your farm’s soil and water resources. It is no secret that pasture and crops (including hay) grow best in deep, fertile topsoil. Soil that washes or blows away removes valuable minerals, nutrients, and organic matter. Pastures and crops growing in shallow, eroded soils develop poor root systems, are more vulnerable to extreme weather, require more fertilizer to achieve acceptable yields and make pastures more susceptible to overgrazing. If erosion problems like rills and gullies are visible, chances are your farm is already losing about 15 tons of soil per acre, per year. That translates to reduced yields and lost revenue. An evaluation of your farm’s natural resources is beneficial even if problems are not visible. Well-managed farms protected by conservation plans help keep sediment and nutrients out of waterways. These plans are a valuable tool in Maryland’s efforts to restore clean water in the Chesapeake Bay and the region’s streams and rivers. In addition, farmers with active conservation plans are in a better position to comply with environmental requirements and may be eligible for state and federal farm programs.

Getting Started

A conservation planner from your local Soil Conservation District will set up a time to meet with you, walk your farm, and listen to your natural resource concerns. Based on your input, the planner will develop a Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan for your farm. This plan will include a menu of best management practices that can be installed to manage manure resources, control soil erosion, and protect water quality. You decide which practices to implement as time, need, and money allow. Because each farm is unique, no two farm plans are alike. A watering facility or fencing may be recommended to implement or improve rotational grazing. Hay and pasture planting and rotational grazing are often recommended to prevent nutrient runoff from fields. Other practices, such as heavy use areas, waste storage facilities and roof runoff help livestock operations protect water quality and comply with environmental regulations.

What Does a Conservation Plan Include?

  • An aerial photograph, map, or diagram of the farm with field boundaries and acreage.
  • An inventory and analysis of natural resources on the property such as soils, streams, endangered species, etc.
  • A soil map showing the type and location of soils on the property.
  • A list of management decisions, agreed upon best management practices, and an implementation schedule.
  • An operation and maintenance plan for installed best management practices.
  • Grazing plan specific to your operation, stocking rate, grazing acres, pasture evaluation, needed and available forage amounts.
  • Additional information on soil loss, seeding, tillage, and fertilization may be included.

How Much Does a Conservation Plan Cost?

There are no costs or strings attached to getting a Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan. It is a completely voluntary process. Conservation planners working in your local Soil Conservation District will develop your farm’s conservation plan free of charge. Although the plan itself costs nothing, some of the recommended best management practices may require a construction investment.

Financial Help for You

Your Soil Conservation District will help you sort through the maze of local, state, and federal conservation assistance programs. The Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program provides grants that can help offset the cost to install eligible best management practices including watering facilities, heavy use areas, fencing, manure storage/composting structures, roof runoff, etc. District staff will help you calculate costs to install BMPs, apply for state and federal financial assistance, and leverage funding for maximum support.

Environmental Benefits

Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plans are required by federal, state, and local conservation programs and are included in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Restoration Plan. The Federal Food Security Act requires conservation plans for all highly erodible lands. At the state level, active plans must be implemented on all farmland enrolled in the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program and on farmland located in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area — the 1,000 ft. strip of land along these shorelines.The Maryland Department of the Environment requires certain livestock and poultry farmers to implement conservation plans as part of its permitting process. Farmers with active conservation plans are exempt from state fines if a sediment runoff problem occurs. Well managed farms protected by Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plans do an excellent job of safeguarding natural resources.

You Have the Final Say

There is nothing mysterious about a Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan. It is simply a set of options designed to help you get the most from your land while protecting and conserving the natural resources that support your operation. You have the final say on the best management practices that will be installed. You decide the best option to improve your operation and protect local water quality.

A Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan is not a Nutrient Management Plan

A Nutrient Management Plan is a separate document that is required for farms that have 8000 pounds of live animals (8 horses) or gross $2,500 annually off farming operations.

Contact your local Soil Conservation District today to get started.