Water Quality Forum

Soil Conservation Programs

The Knox County Soil Conservation District (SCD) formulates and directs a local natural resource conservation program for Knox County, Tennessee.  There is an SCD office in each Tennessee county and nearly 3,000 Soil Conservation Districts nationwide. These districts make up the membership in the National Association of Conservation Districts. A five-member Board of Supervisors directs the Knox County SCD conservation program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical assistance to the Knox County SCD. NRCS is a division of the US Department of Agriculture.  NRCS also provides assistance in the form of staff and operational funding. These conservation partners share a single mission: To coordinate assistance from all available sources-public and private, local, state and federal-in an effort to develop locally driven solutions to natural resource concerns.

The Knox County SCD is actively involved in natural resource conservation education. Activities range from presenting programs to students in grades kindergarten through college, hosting tours and special events, presenting programs to garden and civic clubs, and setting up and maintaining displays at various local events.

Traditional agricultural practices have been known to cause water quality problems. Knox County Soil Conservation District office in partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service are working to implement Best Management Practices on farms to reduce pollution. Technical assistance and some financial assistance by means of cost sharing are made available to farmers and other landowners that install Best Management Practices (BMPs). The BMPs are site specific practices for reducing or preventing the amount of erosion and, in turn, water pollution. The funding for these cost-share programs is provided through various grants from the United States Department of Agriculture, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee.

Listed below are the Federally funded programs that will provide assistance to landowners.

  • EQIP The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was reauthorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) to provide a voluntary conservation program for farmers and ranchers that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible national goals. EQIP offers financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land.
  • WHIP The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program for people who want to develop and improve wildlife habitat primarily on private land. Through WHIP, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service provides both technical assistance and up to 75 percent cost-share assistance to establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat. WHIP agreements between NRCS and the participant generally last from 5 to 10 years from the date the agreement is signed.
  • CRP The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides technical and financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on their lands in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner. The program provides assistance to farmers and ranchers in complying with Federal, State, and tribal environmental laws, and encourages environmental enhancement. The program is funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). CRP is administered by the Farm Service Agency, with NRCS providing technical land eligibility determinations, conservation planning and practice implementation.
  • GRP The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance grasslands on their property. Section 2401 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171) amended the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize this program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency and Forest Service are coordinating implementation of GRP, which helps landowners restore and protect grassland, rangeland, pastureland, shrubland and certain other lands and provides assistance for rehabilitating grasslands. The program will conserve vulnerable grasslands from conversion to cropland or other uses and conserve valuable grasslands by helping maintain viable ranching operations.
  • FRPP The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP) provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranchland in agricultural uses. Working through existing programs, USDA partners with State, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations to acquire conservation easements or other interests in land from landowners. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the fair market easement value of the conservation easement.
  • CSP Conservation Security Program is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands. Working lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range land, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation. The program is available in all 50 States, the Caribbean Area and the Pacific Basin area. The program provides equitable access to benefits to all producers, regardless of size of operation, crops produced, or geographic location.

Related Links:

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

University of Tennessee Ag-Extension

For more information contact

Matt Ledford or Terron Hillsman

865-671-3830 ext. 3


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Commonly Used Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Knox County Soil Conservation District administers cost-share assistance to Knox County landowners. Cost-share funds come from Federal and State funding pools that encourage landowners to implement Agricultural Best Management Practices (Ag. BMPs) on their property. Best Management Practices are conservation-minded efforts designed to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality. Because Agriculture is exempt from regulations designed to address non-point source water quality issues in fields like Construction, we ask for voluntary support from farmers and landowners with the added incentive of helping them pay for the cost and installation of ...more

 
Ag BMP - Alternative Watering Systems

ALTERNATIVE WATERING SYSTEMS

This is by far our most commonly implemented Ag. BMP in Knox County. As you can see from the photo on the left, a watering trough located in a central location on a farm is extensively used by livestock to the point where no grass can grow around the trough. This is referred to as a “Heavy Use Area”. The photo below shows a Ritchie Watering System that is designed to resist mosquito breeding and freezing while supplying ready and ...more

 
Ag BMP - Stream Crossing

STREAM CROSSINGS

Stream Crossings are extensively used by landowners running cattle operations on farms located near local streams and rivers. Often, this is the only water source for livestock on certain areas of farms where they are confined to. As you can see from the photo on the left, this constant traffic by half-ton animals can cause severe soil erosion along stream banks. We encourage landowners to install stream crossings (see photo below), which are stabilized areas constructed across a stream using concrete ...more

 
Ag BMP - Exclusion Fencing

EXCLUSION FENCING

We assist landowners in obtaining cost-share funds to install fencing of all kinds. One of the most commonly used kinds of fencing is Exclusion Fencing. Exclusion Fencing keeps livestock out of local waterways to reduce soil erosion on stream banks and decrease levels of fecal Coliform and e.Coli in streams. Agriculture is the primary contributor of fecal Coliform bacterium in local streams and rivers. By excluding livestock from water sources that are contaminated and providing these animals with clean water fed ...more

 
Ag BMP - Streambank Stabilization

STREAMBANK STABILIZATION

Streambanks on Agricultural land are at risk of severe erosion when farmers use local waterways as a water source for their livestock, as mentioned in the previous practice (Exclusion fencing). Since sediment is the largest pollutant of our nation’s waterways, streambank erosion is considered an urgent conservation need. We provide technical and financial assistance to farmers who are able to address streambank erosion on their land using stabilization techniques that can include rip-rap and jetties, gabion baskets, cedar tree revetments, grading ...more

 
Ag BMP - Conservation Tillage

NO-TILL / CONSERVATION TILLAGE

No-till is a method of planting seed with minimal disturbance to the soil. The harvested crop’s stalk and roots remain in the ground and a special no-till drill is used to plant seed in the remaining stalk of the old crop. This method also utilizes land management and crop selection to minimize necessary herbicide application.

Conservation tillage is ...more

 
Ag BMP - Native Warm Season Grasses

USING NATIVE WARM-SEASON GRASSES FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT

Native grasslands are the most endangered ecosystem in the Mid-South. Historically, the region contained vast acreages of native grassland and savannas with scattered trees and shrub cover, which was maintained by fire. Today, that acreage has been replaced with non-native grasses (e.g., tall fescue, orchardgrass and bermudagrass), agricultural crops, forest cover and suburban ...more