Best Management Practices (BMP) Program & Engineering Services
Best Management Practices (BMP) Program & Engineering Services supports Vermont farmers with engineering guidance and structural farmstead improvements that reduce agricultural waste discharges to Vermont waters.
Funder: Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
Due Dates: May 1, 2027 (same-year priority) | Rolling (applications)
Funding Amounts: No-cost technical assistance; financial assistance under the BMP Program cost share policy
Summary: Helps Vermont farmers plan and implement structural improvements that reduce agricultural waste discharges to Vermont waters.
Key Information: Financial assistance generally cannot cover completed work unless it is associated with an executed USDA-NRCS EQIP contract.
Description
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets runs the Best Management Practices (BMP) Program to help farmers identify farmstead water quality concerns and reduce agricultural waste discharges to Vermont waters. Staff provide agricultural, civil, and environmental engineering consultation and design, water quality compliance guidance, and help with state permitting and variances. The program aims to make improvements that benefit water quality while remaining viable for farm operations.
Financial assistance supports structural practices designed or approved by agency engineers, including both state-designed projects and practices associated with USDA-NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contracts. The program focuses largely on farmstead and production areas, such as barnyard runoff collection, manure storage, silage leachate collection, clean water diversion, and milk house waste treatment.
