Air Resources Enhancement Activities

• New Jersey Air Resources Overview
• Windbreak Maintenance at 60% Density
• Waste Injection
• No-Till or Strip Till for Planting

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Carbon Sequestration Evaluation  (511 kb)

 Air Quality Enhancement Activities Overview

New Jersey Air Resources Overview (274 kb)

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) offers a limited number of enhancement payments as incentives to reward or encourage air quality improvements and affect atmospheric change on agricultural operations.

Benefits

These activities will provide observable improvements in air quality by:

• reducing airborne chemical drift when agricultural chemicals are applied to crop and range land
• reducing airborne odors from animal production and waste management, utilization, and disposal
• reducing airborne particulate matter from agricultural operations

CSP Payments

A participant can earn payments by initiating or maintaining any of the following activities:

• Manage new or existing windbreaks around areas where chemicals are being applied at a density of 60% or greater.
• Inject 100% of all wastes 2 inches or more below soil surface.
• Use continuous no-till or strip till equipment to plant 100% of the crop acreage on the tract.
• Annually use the COMET VR computer program to establish benchmark and/or current year conditions and make land use decisions that result in reductions of green house gas emissions and carbon sequestration.
• Annually report the green house gas emissions and carbon sequestration results achieved on the Voluntary Reporting for Greenhouse Gases web site.

Client’s Acknowledgement Statement

I have elected to use the following Air Resource Management activities and understand the requirements of the selected activities (Check all that apply):

 Manage new or existing windbreaks around areas where chemicals are being applied at a density of 60% or greater (NJAir01)
 Inject 100% of all wastes 2 inches or more below soil surface. (NJAir02)
 Use continuous no-till or strip-till equipment to plant 100% of the crop acreage on the tract. (NJAir03)
 Annually use the COMET VR computer program to establish benchmark and/or current year conditions and make land use decisions that result in a reduction of green house gas emissions and carbon sequestration.
 Annually report the green house gas emissions and carbon sequestration results achieved on the Voluntary Reporting for Greenhouse Gasses web site.


I agree that the following information will be provided to NRCS upon request:
- Written documentation of the activity performed (using attached worksheets or equivalent).
- Copies of dated receipts for equipment or services purchased.

I understand that CSP Enhancements earnings are subject to payment caps and that my actual payments will depend on my CSP Tier level, the land area affected and the number of activities performed.

I understand that it is my responsibility to obtain all necessary permits and to comply with all laws, regulations and ordinances pertaining to the application of these activities.

Windbreak Maintenance at 60% Density

Windbreaks are linear plantings of single or multiple rows of trees or shrubs. Windbreaks must be planted at the spacing indicated below to meet a minimum 60% density. Newly planted shrub windbreaks must be a minimum of 5 years old before the 60% density is achieved. Newly planted tree windbreaks must be a minimum of 10 years old to achieve 60% density. No gaps are allowed; all dead plants must be promptly replaced.

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Windbreak Maintenance at 60% Density (96 kb)

Waste Injection

Liquid and/or slurry wastes can be injected into the soil using injection equipment. Injection of wastes protects surface water supplies, reduces odors, and provides more nutrients to the root zone of the crop.

Waste injection is generally one of several components of a resource management system used to manage manure and polluted water from livestock and poultry operations. Where the wastes are used to supply the fertility needs of crop and pasture, waste injection is done as part of an overall resource management plan for the enterprise.

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Waste Injection (92 kb)

No-Till or Strip Till for Planting

Use of conservation tillage methods do not stir or invert the soil for soil preparation or crop planting. This protects the soil from erosion, minimizes loss of soil moisture, provides wildlife habitat benefits, and improves soil organic matter content.

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No-Till or Strip Till for Planting (34 kb)

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Last Modified: May 27, 2008