Maryland Subsurface Application of Manure (SAM) Initiative

Sustainable Chesapeake and partners successfully leveraged Maryland's Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bay Trust Fund resources to incentivize investments in new manure injection equipment that was used to inject manure on a total of 19,115 Maryland acres over the course of the project on 70 farms (32 on the Eastern Shore and 38 on the Western Shore). To implement the project, the Catoctin & Frederick Soil Conservation District, Allegheny Ag LLC and McMichael Custom Spreading LLC invested in a total of four manure injection systems. Use of this equipment reduced annual nitrogen and phosphorus loading by 6,000 and 725 pounds, respectively.

These investments - and their willingness to share their experiences with other farmers and manure applicators in the region - have galvanized expanded adoption of manure injection in Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as Maryland. While the Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bay Trust Funds were spent solely in Maryland, this project has resulted in water quality improvement throughout the watershed.