Agricultural conservation practice implementation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
December 11, 2018
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides cost-share funding and technical assistance to support the implementation of agricultural conservation practices on farms throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Conservation implementation has been substantial in the time period for which digital records are available (from 2007 through 2017). Farmer participation in USDA conservation programs is voluntary and the implementation data are privacy protected. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and USDA formed a cooperative partnership to analyze the effects of agricultural conservation on sediment, nutrient, and pesticide transport to the Chesapeake Bay. The USDA provides conservation implementation records for Chesapeake Bay farms to the USGS, with strict limitations on the use of the data to maintain confidentiality of site-specific farm data. The USGS aggregates the data to maintain farmer privacy, and subsequently provides the aggregated datasets to the public to inform conservation decision making processes. As part of that process, the USGS collaborates with the USDA to increase the understanding and quality of the USDA datasets and informs the interpretation of data records by Chesapeake Bay Program partners. The USGS obtains USDA conservation datasets in October of each year, performs data handling and quality checks as described in this document, and delivers aggregated summaries to the six Chesapeake Bay state jurisdictions for use in reporting conservation implementation to the Chesapeake Bay Partnership’s Annual Progress Review, which occurs in December of each year. The privacy protected, site-specific datasets are also used by USGS scientists to understand the effects of agricultural conservation on sediment, nutrient, and pesticide transport to the Chesapeake Bay at the small watershed scale. This publication describes the methods used to aggregate the datasets herein made available to the public at county and eight-digit hydrologic unit code watershed scales, reporting annual implementation from 2007 through 2017. It also documents the effect of geographic aggregation scale on the reportability of records and provides details regarding appropriate use and interpretation of the data records.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2018 |
---|---|
Title | Agricultural conservation practice implementation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture |
DOI | 10.3133/ds1102 |
Authors | W. Dean Hively, Olivia H. Devereux, Jennifer L. D. Keisman |
Publication Type | Report |
Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
Series Title | Data Series |
Series Number | 1102 |
Index ID | ds1102 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center |
Related
Aggregated Data Records Describing USDA Conservation Practices Implemented Within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
This data release contains aggregated data records documenting the implementation of USDA conservation practices on farms within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The data are supplied as annual totals aggregated by county, and by eight digit hydrologic unit code (HUC-8) watershed. The initial data release covers 2007-2017, and updates are planned for December of each year. The data provided...
Wells Dean Hively, Phd
Research Physical Scientist
Research Physical Scientist
Email
Phone
Jeni Keisman, Ph.D.
Chief, Hydrologic Impacts Branch
Chief, Hydrologic Impacts Branch
Email
Related
Aggregated Data Records Describing USDA Conservation Practices Implemented Within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
This data release contains aggregated data records documenting the implementation of USDA conservation practices on farms within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The data are supplied as annual totals aggregated by county, and by eight digit hydrologic unit code (HUC-8) watershed. The initial data release covers 2007-2017, and updates are planned for December of each year. The data provided...
Wells Dean Hively, Phd
Research Physical Scientist
Research Physical Scientist
Email
Phone
Jeni Keisman, Ph.D.
Chief, Hydrologic Impacts Branch
Chief, Hydrologic Impacts Branch
Email