In the heart of Juniata County, Pennsylvania, Charvin Organic Farms is a testament to the power of agricultural conservation and innovative partnerships. Elvin Ranck and his sons, Eric and Andrew, manage 225 dairy cows and a thriving organic hog enterprise at this 1,400-acre, family-run operation. Recently, the Rancks completed a significant conservation project that addresses critical environmental concerns while enhancing farm productivity.
The Journey to Conservation
Elvin Ranck, who started Charvin Organic Farms in 1983 and transitioned to organic practices in 1986, has long been committed to sustainable agriculture. “We’re just trying to provide healthy food for people, as well as take care of the land and be an asset to the community,” he explained. This commitment led him to seek solutions for pressing resource concerns on his farm.
Addressing Critical Resource Concerns
The project, initiated in 2020, was aimed at tackling several environmental challenges:
- Nutrient runoff and leaching: The farm’s manure management practices needed improvement to prevent potential contamination of water sources.
- Sediment runoff: An existing gully on the property was contributing to soil erosion.
- Outdoor access areas: The hog lots, required for organic certification, lacked proper curbing to control nutrient runoff.
“The nutrient leaching and runoff was probably the most critical concern,” said Melissa Erdman, district conservationist for Juniata County with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who worked with Ranck on the project. “We also addressed sediment runoff and implemented a forested buffer to keep water cooler.”
Innovative Solutions for Unique Challenges
The project’s uniqueness lies in adapting conservation practices to an organic hog operation. “This is a unique management style for hogs,” Erdman said. “Typically, conventional operations use liquid manure systems, but here we proposed a dry stack manure storage because they heavily bed the hogs with sawdust.”
Key improvements included:
- Construction of a roofed waste storage facility.
- Installation of curbs and improvements to outdoor lots.
- Implementation of a forested buffer.
- Addressing gully erosion.
Overcoming Challenges Through Partnerships
The project faced significant challenges, primarily due to inflation. “From when the contract was signed in 2020 to implementation, the costs increased dramatically,” Erdman said. This financial hurdle threatened to derail the project, as the initial Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding fell short.
The solution came through an innovative partnership approach. At the time, Lori Glace, district manager of the Juniata County Conservation District, had proactively initiated the state’s Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) in Juniata County. This program provided crucial additional funding.
Further support came from an unexpected source: a partnership between the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Organic Valley, the Rancks’ dairy cooperative. This unique funding partnership was made possible by a Small Watershed Grant the Alliance secured through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
“The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay had just signed a corporate partnership with Organic Valley,” Erdman said. “They provided $60,000 for Organic Valley Co-op producers to use towards best management practices.”
This three-way funding partnership — EQIP, ACAP, and the Alliance for Chesapeake Bay/Organic Valley collaboration — made the project financially viable despite inflationary pressures.
ACAP: Bridging the Funding Gap
The Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program, established through Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Fund in 2022, provides crucial support for implementing best management practices on farms. With $154 million dedicated to reducing nonpoint source pollution in the state’s waterways, ACAP is administered by the State Conservation Commission and implemented locally by conservation districts. Funding is allocated based on criteria such as impaired stream miles, cropland acreage, and number of farms, ensuring targeted support for areas most in need of agricultural conservation efforts.
The ACAP funding played a crucial role in the project’s success. Ranck appreciated how it helped “bridge the gap that Melissa alluded to, particularly in this situation because inflation really hit us between the engineering and what it was going to cost us in reality.”
This experience underscores the importance of diverse funding sources in making conservation projects feasible, especially in times of economic uncertainty.
Benefits and Impact
The completed project has yielded significant benefits:
- Improved water quality: “The most successful part has been being able to look out there and not see manure running down over that bank,” Ranck said, highlighting the visible improvement in manure management.
- Enhanced farm aesthetics: The new waste storage facility provides a cleaner, more organized appearance to the farm entrance.
- Operational efficiency: The concrete staging area allows for easier manure management.
- Environmental stewardship: The project contributes to the farm’s role in preserving soil health and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
A Model for Future Conservation Efforts
Charvin Organic Farms’ project serves as an excellent example of how multiple funding sources and partnerships can come together to achieve significant conservation goals. It demonstrates the flexibility and effectiveness of programs like ACAP in supporting farmers’ efforts to implement best management practices.
Ranck highly recommends these conservation programs to other farmers. “They’re a big plus to the farmer to start with, as well as the environment, which is the community,” he said. He noted that he particularly appreciates these programs’ hands-on, flexible approach, noting their ability to adapt to on-the-ground realities.
Looking to the Future
For Ranck, agricultural conservation is about legacy. “The biggest reason ag conservation is important to us is because of my children and grandchildren, their children,” he explained. “We always try to leave things better today than they were yesterday.”
This project at Charvin Organic Farms is more than just an improvement to a single farm; it’s a step towards a more sustainable agricultural future. By combining innovative farming practices, strategic partnerships, and diverse funding sources, Ranck and his team have created a model that other farmers can learn from and adapt to their own operations.
As agriculture continues to face environmental and economic challenges, stories like that of Charvin Organic Farms provide a roadmap for success. They demonstrate that with the right support, farmers can implement practices that are beneficial for their operations, their communities, and the environment.
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