What to Expect During Enrollment
Enrollment Procedure & Steps
Enrolling in the FARM'N project is similar to enrollment in cost share programs, but with a few key differences. Instead of selecting a practice and agreeing to implement it, you are agreeing to work toward a management target. Just like you might work annually to improve milk production, under this program, you'll work annually to reduce nitrogen surplus. What happens if you don't hit your target for reducing nitrogen surplus? That's okay! You will get paid for the progress you did make. If things don't go to plan and you aren't able to reduce surplus nitrogen at all - there isn't a penalty, but you also don't get a payment.
To begin the enrollment process, contact the Virginia Tech technical team (rrwhite@vt.edu; 540-231-7384).
Summary of Enrollment Process:
The documentation needed for determining baseline is largely information you may already have on hand, and includes the previous 3 years of records on feed, fertilizer, and animal purchases, land use and management (crop rotations, fertilizer application), and sales of milk, animals, crops, and other farm exports.
What to Expect During Participation
Selecting Applications
Program Scope:
Program enrollment targets are expected to vary depending on program interest, funding, payments made and other factors.
Selection Criteria:
If expressions of interest exceed program funding capacity, applications will be ranked and selected primarily based on the following criteria:
Participating in the Project
If you choose to participate in the FARM'N project, you will be asked to provide 3 years of records used to determine your baseline nitrogen surplus and will have to sign an agreement with VSDA. This agreement stipulates that you will provide the necessary documentation to calculate your farm nitrogen surplus at the end of the year, and that VSDA will compensate you for improvements in farm nitrogen surplus.
The next step? Carry on a FARM'N. You'll meet with the technical support team quarterly to review your year-to-date mass balance, strategize about how you can adjust management to reduce your nitrogen surplus, and track your expected payments.
At the end of the year, you'll submit your current year documents, and the technical support team will calculate your improvement in nitrogen surplus and report that improvement to VSDA. You will receive a more detailed version of the report sent to VSDA, which will include your itemized nitrogen surplus calculations and your payment.