Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Managing Pasture for Healthy Farms and Soils Across Vermont

Agreement Number
NR21-13G035
Awardee Name
Vermont Land Trust, Inc.
Grant Type
On-Farm Trials-Soil Health Demonstration Trial
Awardee State/Territory
Vermont
Involved States/territories
Vermont
Award Year
2020
Start Date
End Date
Award Amount
$2,015,167.00
Production/Use
Animal Agriculture and Husbandry
Farmland Agricultural
Grassland (includes pasture/rangeland)
Resource Concern (Broad)
Habitat
Soil
Water
Resource Concern (Specific)
Organic matter depletion
Nutrients transported to surface water
Nutrients transported to groundwater
Nutrients
Nutrient and pathogen from storage and handling of manure, compost, biosolids, or non-ag food waste
Nonpoint phosphorus surface loss; phosphorus
Soil Structure
Soil organism habitat loss or degradation
Soil Health
Plant productivity and health
Plant structure and composition
Nutrient and pathogen from domestic animals standing in surface water
Nonpoint phosphorus leaching loss; phosphorus
Degraded plant condition
Field sediment, nutrient and pathogen loss
Cover cropping
Compaction
Manure management
Invasive species
Water Quality
Wildlife habitat
Conservation Practice(s)
Brush Management
Conservation Cover
Conservation Crop Rotation
Cover Crop
Deep Tillage
Fence
Forage Harvest Management
Grazing Land Mechanical Treatment
Herbaceous Weed Treatment
Livestock Pipeline
Nutrient Management
Pasture and Hay Planting
Prescribed Burning
Project Background
Vermont Land Trust will work together with test farms to plan and implement a four-part Soil Health Management System for each site including: no-till seeding of forage and cover crops; nutrient management via application of compost and bioavailable soil amendments; non-invasive mechanical pasture improvement; management-intensive rotational grazing of livestock. Outcomes will be evaluated against five control sites and used to produce a predictive pasture health model.
Project Scale
Multi-farm
Awardee Technical Contact Name
Tyler Miller