Adam Brown is a Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) Technician at the Leelanaue Conservation District.
Started in 1998, MAEAP is a voluntary program that recognizes Michigan farmers who are top stewards of their land. MAEAP's overall goal is to help farmers reduce the risk of soil and water pollution in compliance with state regulations.
To achieve this goal MAEAP does several things:
- Actively engage agricultural producers through educational presentations
- Facilitate the assessment of environmental risks
- Identify practices to comply with regulations and reduce potential risks
- Provide third party verifications that Good Agricultural Practices are being followed
MAEAP's verification process involves education, technician assessment, MDARD verification and recognition. The technician reviews practices at the farm or other site to ensure that proper management practices are being followed.
MAEAP's environmental impact has been significant. In Fiscal Year 2021 total impacts included--
- 173,120 acres in nutrient management plans
- 692,355 linear feet of buffer/filter strips
- 45,232 acres of cover crops
- 82,834 acres of conservation tillage
- 54,898 acres of no-till, zone till, or grass
- 571 gullies stabilized
- 57,241 feet of livestock exclusion
- 153,989 acres in pest management plans
- 254,783 tons of sediment reduced
- 951,353 lbs. of nitrogen reduced
- 428,584 lbs of phosphorous reduced
Adam's PowerPoint presentation is available in its entirety here.