From Hyde County Soil and Water Conservation District

The Hyde County Soil and Water Conservation District has received its allocation for the North Carolina Agriculture Cost Share Program for the 2019 program year. The HSWD received $27,963 in cost share funds and also an additional $7,133 in cost share funds for identified impaired/impacted watershed areas. The District also received $7,500 through the Agricultural Water Resources Assistance Program.

The sign up for applications is now available and will continue through Jan. 31, 2020, or until all funds have been expended. The district offers funding on BMP’s such as nutrient management, water control structures, land smoothing and 3-year continuous no-till crop rotation. The limit for nutrient management acreage is 250 acres and applicant must agree to carry out the practice for three years on the same land. The incentive payment for this practice is $6 per acre. The acreage limit on conservation tillage is 100 acres. The incentive payment for this practice is $60 per acre. The District is offering land smoothing at $187.50 an acre with a 40-acre cap and cover crop at 150 acres at $40 an acre with a lifetime cap not to exceed $15,000.

The purpose of the cost share program is to reduce the amount of nutrients entering surface and groundwater through best management practices such as nutrient management.

If you are interested in these programs, please contact the Hyde County Soil and Water Conservation District office located at 30 Oyster Creek Road, Hyde Government Center, Suite 131 in Swan Quarter. You may also call the district office at 252-926-4195 or (252) 926-5291. Allie Mulligan, the Hyde district resource specialist will be happy to talk to you about our programs and assist you with the application process.