Manure Transport Program

The Manure Transport Program helps cover the cost of transporting manure to farms with low phosphorus fields or to alternative use facilities. Payments of up to $28 per ton are available to eligible farmers or registered manure brokers to transport poultry litter. A 'Haul Now, Apply Later' FastTrack option lets farmers or brokers haul poultry manure now and apply for cost-share reimbursement later; a standard transport option is also available. The sending farm must be located in Maryland and raise broiler chickens for one of the participating Delmarva poultry companies; poultry litter must be transported more than 7 miles from the sending farm and land-applied as a nutrient source for an agricultural crop or sent to an approved alternative use facility. For dairy and other non-poultry livestock producers, cost-share grants pay up to 87.5 percent of all eligible costs, with payment rates based on transport distance and manure type (liquid or solid). Either the farmer or the manure broker (not both) may apply for a given load.

Poultry: qualifying farmers or registered manure brokers; the sending farm must be in Maryland raising broilers for a participating Delmarva poultry company; litter transported more than 7 miles. The applicant submits a current nutrient management plan with nitrogen-based recommendations for fields with a soil phosphorus Fertility Index Value (FIV) of 100 or less and phosphorus-based recommendations for fields with an FIV of 101-150; receiving fields with an FIV greater than 150 are not eligible. Dairy/livestock: only operations receiving the manure may apply; receiving fields must have an FIV below 101; manure transported more than 1 mile and applied to crops or hay fields containing less than 25 percent legumes; maximum application rates of 6,000 gallons/acre (liquid/slurry) or 10 tons/acre (solid/semi-solid).

Paid as a per-unit rate and a cost-share percentage, not as a fixed award.

Poultry litter: "Qualifying farmers or manure brokers receive up to $28 per ton to transport poultry litter." Available either as a standard grant (approval required before hauling) or via the "Haul Now, Apply Later" FastTrack option ("You pay for delivery upfront and we'll reimburse you for eligible costs—up to $28 per ton"). Litter must move more than 7 miles from a Maryland farm raising broilers for a participating Delmarva poultry company. "Either the farmer or the manure broker (not both) may apply for cost-share reimbursement to transport a load of poultry manure." No absolute per-recipient dollar ceiling is published for the poultry pathway.

Dairy and other non-poultry livestock manure: "Cost-share grants pay up to 87.5 percent of all eligible costs. Payment rates are based on the transport distance and type of manure, either liquid or solid." Manure must move more than 1 mile. This pathway does carry dollar caps: "Funding is capped at $15,000 per season and $30,000 a year for receiving farms." Transport grants are based on maximum application rates of "6,000 gallons per acre for liquid/slurry manure" or "10 tons per acre for solid/semi-solid manure," and receiving crops or hay fields must contain less than 25 percent legumes.

Manure injection (separate offer): "Cost-share grants of up to $45 an acre are available to help farmers inject liquid manure below the soil surface." Fields must have a P-FIV less than 500; work may begin March 1 if the ground is not frozen or snow-covered.

Applicants "must be in good standing with the Conservation Grants and Nutrient Management programs." No match is required beyond the farmer's residual share of costs. MDA notes it "is not involved in the financial transactions between buyers and sellers."

Farmers apply through their local soil conservation district; registered manure brokers apply directly to the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Download forms before completing and mail completed forms to Maryland Department of Agriculture, Conservation Grants, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Room 207, Annapolis, MD 21401. See COMAR 15.20.05 for the full rules. Program contacts: Jason D. Keppler, Program Manager (410-841-5864); Alan Masters, Program Administrator (410-841-5871).